What do community councils do and would you like to come on board as a community councillor?

A community council is a voluntary organisation set up by statute by the local authority and run by local residents to act on behalf of its area. As the most local tier of elected representation, community councils play an important role in local democracy.

Community councils are comprised of people who care about their community and want to make it a better place to live. It is open to everyone and includes young, elderly and a wide spectrum of backgrounds and diversity with the aim to encourage dialogue and co-operation within the community.

As well as representing the community to the local authority, community councils facilitate a wide range of activities which promote the well-being of their communities. They bring local people together to help make things happen. They advise, petition, influence and advocate numerous causes and cases of concern on behalf of local communities.

Here are some examples of their work from across the country:

- Carry out projects to enhance their community for all types of citizens, such as elderly, single minority groups, youth groups etc;

- Issue community newsletters;

- Conduct local surveys;

- Campaign on local issues including planning;

- Organise community events.

In our community council we have successfully campaigned on a number of planning issues that the community felt was detrimental to the well-being of its environment and for local businesses and organisations. We are also running a pavement campaign to stop drivers parking dangerously. Plus we help with litter campaigns and support other community councils initiatives

Community councils are the strongest means of becoming involved with your local area. It will give you a good understanding of the workings of local government and what is going on locally and nationally.

The next meeting of Silverton and Overtoun Community Council will be our AGM. If you are interested in finding out what we have achieved during the past year and want to hear more about our plans for 2022/23, or if you would like to join, please feel free to come along on Thursday, May 12 at 7.30pm. You will be made most welcome. The meeting will be held at St Augustine’s Church and will be hybrid.