Welcome to Urswick, Bardsea and Stainton Parish Council
Parish councils are the lowest tier of government in England. They are no longer anything to do with the church, although they were in times past. The parish council is responsible for a parish or a number of parishes. Urswick Parish Council covers the areas of Great & Little Urswick, Bardsea and Stainton with Adgardley. Parishioners are represented by a total of eight Councillors, two representing the Bardsea, one representing Stainton with Adgarley and five representing Urswick.
The Parish council is in the jurisdiction of Wesrmorland and Furness Council, (previously covered by South Lakeland District Council and Cumbria County Council). Town councils sometimes exist as an alternative to parish councils, Ulverston Town Council being an example. The Parish is served by Westmorland and Furness Councillor who represents the district ward of Low Furness.
About the Parish Council
The parish can get money from its residents in the form of a “precept”, which is added to the figures requested by Westmorland and Furness Council and the police and fire authority. This is then collected by Westmorland and Furness Council in the council tax.
The Council meets once every six weeks on Thursday evenings with the venue rotating between Urswick Parish Rooms, Bardsea Maltkiln and Stainton Recreation Hall. Meetings normally commence at 7:00 pm, but exceptions do occur, typically when a speaker has been invited to address the Council on a particular topic. The agenda, which is accessible from this page, should be checked for the dates and times of the meetings.
The Parish Council is committed to providing representation of its parishioners to obtaining improved levels of service from Westmorland and Furness Council. The maintenance of the physical environment of the parish is of great importance and as such the Parish Council is directly responsible for providing the following services to the villages:
- commenting on all planning applications
- small road maintenance issues
- grass cutting
- Liaising with the police on issues such as dog fouling, speeding etc.
- bus shelters
- many small bits of land around the villages (mainly green spaces)
- the war memorial
This website bears testimony to the council’s commitment to improving communications with its parishioners and encouraging their engagement in matters affecting this ancient parish.
Any comments as to how the website could be improved are most welcome.