Parish Councils are the tier of local government that is closest to the people they represent and are an essential part of the structure of local democracy. They "work towards improving community well being and providing better services at a local level. Their activities fall into three main categories: representing the local community; delivering services to meet local needs; striving to improve quality of life and community well being." (National Association of Local Councils).
Parish Councils do not have many duties that they are required to undertake by law but do have many powers, most of which are discretionary.
Representing the Local Community
Euxton Parish Council sets out to represent the local community in many different ways. Minutes of the various Council and Committee meetings and the background reports attached to them are on this website ("Meetings") and show what decisions have been made and what initiatives have been taken on behalf of the local community.
Examples are:
- The Council makes requests or presses Chorley Borough Council to repair or provide new litter bins or Lancashire County Council to make highway repairs or provide bus shelters
- The Council considers all planning applications in the Parish and decides whether or not to support, oppose or comment on them
- The Council has represented the Parish at major planning inquiries, for example those into the Euxton sand and gravel quarry off Dawbers Lane and the inquiry for the Chorley Local Plan
- The Council has representatives on a variety of local, Chorley Borough or Lancashire County boards, groups, committees
To help the Council best represent local residents it makes great effort to let them know about current issues and events in the Parish and to seek information about their views and concerns. The Council delivers a quarterly newsletter throughout the Parish, maintains this website, and has "Facebook" and "Twitter" accounts. Through these avenues the Council encourages residents to make their views known and also encourages them to attend Council meetings. Other opportunities are taken to seek residents' views at event such as the Euxton Gala, councillor surgeries, pro forma surveys. Contact information for councillors and the Clerk is available on the website, in the newsletter and on Council notice boards. Past and current editions of the newsletter are on this website.
Delivering Services to Meet Local Needs
In Euxton the Parish Council is directly responsible for many local facilities these include:
- The beautiful Millennium Green with its paths, trees, seats and tables
- Greenside Recreation Fields, its changing and storage facilities, sports pitches, and outdoors adult gym
- The Euxton Skatepark opened in 2013
- Childrens' playgrounds and other facilities such as the James Moorcroft Play Area on Balshaw Lane, Primrose Hill Play Area, Lucy Branston Play area and Garden at Greenside, Princess Way Kickabout Area, Southport Road Youth Shelter and Basketball facility on Southport Road (other similar facilities elsewhere in the Parish are provided by others)
The Council employs three part time linesmen (or village caretakers). They are responsible for the routine maintenance of these facilities; cleaning, litter collection, removing graffiti, minor repairs (Grass cutting is carried out under contract by Chorley Borough Council). In addition the linesmen also supplement the work of Chorley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council in keeping the main highways of the village clean and tidy. They will often be seen around the village collecting litter, sweeping and, especially in Autumn, picking up leaves.
The linesmen also undertake other less regular duties as required on the village's network of footpaths and public open space. The Council is proud of their achievements in keeping the village so clean and tidy.
As noted earlier, the Council also makes great efforts to understand residents' concerns and needs in a variety of ways so that it can better respond to them. Notice boards are located throughout the Parish with one recently installed on the side of the Tesco store at Buckshaw.
Lancashire County Council and Chorley Borough Council have greater responsibility for providing services in the area. Another page in this website briefly describes what their responsibilities are.
Striving to Improve Quality of Life & Community Well Being
The Parish Council seeks to help Euxton residents' enjoyment of life by providing and improving facilities for local residents of all ages. In recent year the Council has:
- Improved the facilities at the James Moorcroft Play Area on Balshaw Lane with exciting new pieces of apparatus
- Contributed to, assisted with the provision of and taken over responsibility for the completed Euxton War Memorial - the village previously had no single memorial publicly accessible and which named and included all the village's war dead (although further work will be required to ensure that the memorial is complete in its list of names)
- Provided a new and exciting skatepark for the youth (and many younger and some older) members of the parish and elsewhere
- Supplemented the facilities at Greenside Recreation Field with an outdoor adult gym
The Council is currently looking at options for providing a crown green bowling and boules facility in the Parish.
Details about some of these projects, past and current, can be found in the "projects" section of the website.
There are other ways in which the Council seeks to meet this aim. One example is the much appreciated flower beds troughs which have been provided throughout the Parish. The Council generally seeks to provide additional such facilities on a regular basis.
When the Council responds to planning applications it seeks, where possible, to press for improvements for the benefit of local residents although frequently the Council feels that it is seeking to minimise damage to the local environment rather than to promote benefit.
Lancashire County Council & Chorley Borough Council
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is responsible for services across the whole of the County including:
- Education - primary and secondary
- Transport and highways - including road safety, traffic and parking restrictions, bus passes, street lighting
- Planning - generally at the strategic level
- Fire and public safety
- Social care
- Libraries
- Waste management
- Trading standards
- Birth marriages and deaths registration
Chorley Borough Council
Chorley Borough Council serves Chorley town and the parishes, like Euxton, that surround it. The Borough is responsible for services across this area including the following:
- Planning local plans and planning applications
- Parks and gardens including the Yarrow Valley Country Park
- Waste collection
- Recycling
- Council tax collection
- Housing