What is a Community Council?

A Community Council is a voluntary organisation which is set up by a Local Authority and run by residents. Community Councils are often central to local life and act as a voice for their local area. Their role and size can vary from area to area and they are a great opportunity for people to come together to help make things happen.

Community Councils facilitate a wide range of activities within the community to improve wellbeing as well protecting and promoting the identity of the area. These activities typically include carrying out projects to enhance the community, creating and issuing community newsletters, conducting surveys, organising community events and campaigning on local issues. 

Community Councils play an important role in local democracy as they represent the community to the local authority. To do this they must be proactive in consulting and engaging with residents. They are a great way to get involved in your local area and give a good understanding of how local government operates so you could gain some new skills from taking part!

Community Councils must represent all people in the area without prejudice so they should be non-party political and non-sectarian and also represent a full cross-section of the community and encourage involvement of people regardless of gender, race, age, disability or sexual orientation. 

There are several roles in which you can get involved in your Community Council. Each Community Council must have a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. These are known as office bearers and are elected members who are responsible for the effective running of the Community Council. Other roles may be created depending on what is needed to make a project a success.

The good thing is that you don’t need to take on a specific role to get involved as all members play a part in improving the local area through Community Council work.

If you’re interested in going along to your Community Council and getting involved you can find out where your nearest one is here.

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