Welcome to Barrow Parish Council
Barrow Parish Council was formed on 1st April 2015 and was previously a part of Wiswell Parish Council.
There are five councillors that sit on the parish council who each serve a four-year term. Every year, one councillor is elected as ‘Chair’ by the members. Parish councillors are not paid for their services, they volunteer their time for free to work on behalf of their community.
Parish councillors are voted in every four years at the same time as the borough council elections. The last elections were held in May 2015. If a vacancy arises during the four-year term, the parish council can fill the vacancy by co-option and this will be advertised on parish noticeboards and on this website.
There are approximately 840 electors living in the parish of Barrow.
Barrow Parish Council has a paid officer, the Clerk, who organises meetings and helps to action the parish council’s decisions. They are also responsible for finance and the upkeep of records. The Clerk does not vote or make decisions. All correspondence to the parish council should be sent to the Clerk.
A parish council is the first level of local government, closest to the community.
On its own, a parish council has limited powers. However, it does have the ability to discuss and negotiate with other local authorities that make the final decisions, such as Ribble Valley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council. A parish council also has the power to raise money to cover their costs through the parish precept, which is included in the council tax bill.
Barrow Parish Council has the following responsibilities:
- It owns and maintains Barrow Playing Field.
- It owns and maintains the grassed area and flower beds at Trafford Gardens, as well as the grassed pathway to the side of the bungalows on Washbrook Close leading to the playing field.
- It cleans some bus shelters in the village and maintain several benches and grass verges.
- It jointly owns Whalley, Wiswell and Barrow Cemetery along with Whalley and Wiswell Parish Councils.
- It raises parish matters with the relevant authorities, such as Ribble Valley Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, the Police, the Environment Agency and United Utilities.
- It is a statutory consultee on all planning applications affecting the parish. It considers each application on its merits and will respond to every consultation. The final decision on whether the application is approved or refused is made by the planning authority, not the parish council.
- It employs a ‘lengthsman’ to carry out maintenance on the open space areas in the village, keeping the village clean, tidy and a pleasant place for residents to live