AUTHOR: TIM BOWDEN, SECRETARY TO THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND
What are the local ties which bind together your constituency? Is it where you send your children to school, your place of worship, your library - or, perhaps, the community groups you attend? Over the next eight weeks, we want you to tell us how we can best reflect your local community as we reshape the map of parliamentary constituency boundaries in England.
AUTHOR: DAVID BARROWCLIFF, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AT ENGLISH RURAL
Rural communities can only thrive if there are good quality affordable homes available to those who live and work in rural areas.
AUTHOR: ANDREW DIXON, TOGETHER
In March, Together published the Talk/together report based on a national conversation involving over 150,000 people. The report found that people felt the country had generally pulled together, not apart, as a result of the pandemic, and that people were keen to retain the best of the new community spirit they had seen in action.
EMMA CURTIS, PARTNERSHIP MANAGER AT SCRIBE ACCOUNTS
The world of grant funding can be a mind-boggling minefield. However, with so many potential benefits it should not be seen as a hurdle, but as an opportunity to grab some free cash to bring your project ideas to life and create a valuable asset for your community.
RUAIRE GLACKIN, HEAD OF NET ZERO AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT AT UTILITY AID
Perhaps the greatest challenge of our generation is addressing the pace of climate change before it is too late. We all have a significant part to play in this and Councils are no different. The need to show leadership set examples and be a driving force in creating real and meaningful change is clear.
AUTHOR: DR GORDON MORRIS, HONORARY RESEARCH ASSOCIATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
The implications of the post-COVID-19 and Brexit worlds for England’s town councils were explored in a recent paper by the writer. An online survey supported by telephone interviews elicited approximately 25,000 words of carefully considered opinions and suggestions from 123 councillors and 21 clerks from 78 councils (including the academics and policy professionals who contributed, 156 participants in all). The following is a snapshot of the findings.
