By John Baron
Leeds City Council’s proposal to sell historic Pudsey Town Hall has reignited the debate over Pudsey having its own town council.
The move – spearheaded by Councillors Simon and Dawn Seary (Cons) – would see Pudsey joining towns including Horsforth, Otley, Morley and Wetherby in having a town council.
The aim is to give Pudsey more of a say on local issues. But what would a town council actually do for Pudsey, would it be effective and how much would it cost?
Here’s a guide to what town councils do – and the timescales needed to set one up:
History
The town was governed Pudsey Urban District Council from 1912 until 1974. It met in the council chambers in Pudsey Town Hall up until Local Government Reorganisation on 1974 when governance move to Leeds City Council.
The Pudsey council chambers have been perfectly preserved and are still there today.
Pudsey residents may remember signatures being collected on a pro-Pudsey Town Council petition in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The campaign was led by Conservative councillors Andrew Carter and the late Frank Robinson but had a cross-section of backing from the community. It got 7.5% of the electorate signing up to it (a legal trigger) but the process became a political football and ended up being blocked.
WLD also ran an editorial asking whether it was worth having a town council in Pudsey ten years ago.
What would a town council bring to Pudsey?
Town councils don’t have the power of a city council, but they can play a role in the communities they serve, often providing communities with a voice.
They can deliver various local services, including managing recreational areas, community halls, and cemeteries.
Town councils often oversee local amenities like playing fields, allotments, village greens, and bus shelters. They can also support and organise local events and fund community projects and services.
A town council doesn’t have the power to decide planning applications, however it is a statutory consultee so can comment on them and help influence planning decisions. The final decision on applications would still sit with Leeds City Council though.
A town council will be able to comment on community consultations and influence police and health decisions.
Town councils can drive community projects and initiatives tailored to local needs, such as environmental conservation or youth programs and can attract funding and grants unavailable to larger councils.
It will also have its own ceremonial Mayor (unpaid, serving for a year).
More information on the role of town councils can be found on the National Association of Local Councils.
Critics argue that town councils add another layer of bureaucracy, administration and costs.
They often have limited powers and responsibilities compared to larger authorities, potentially restricting their ability to address certain issues.
Some of the functions of a town council are arguably already covered by Leeds City Council’s Outer West Community Committee in terms of funding community projects and working with organisations like the police on local issues.
However supporters of a town council would argue the new body would increase the amount of funding available and provide even more of a local voice on issues.
What would it cost?
Town councils aren’t free. They have powers to raise funds (via a precept) to support their activities and deliver local services.
Town councillors are all volunteers who are elected by the community. Councillors receive no pay or allowances for the work they do on behalf of the town. Councils do employ a town clerk and other staff to ensure the organisation runs efficiently.
Office and meeting space would need to be paid for, whether it’s in the Town Hall or elsewhere.
Precepts are set annually by councillors. In Horsforth, the precept is £20.20 a year for each household, Morley’s is £21 a year, while Otley’s is £98.47 and Wetherby’s is £117.30. The precept is paid monthly in addition to your existing council tax.
A breakdown of what other town and parish councils charge in Leeds can be found here.
Critics argue funding a town council can place an additional strain on local finances already hit by sizeable council tax increases from Leeds City Council.
What happens next?
The people of Pudsey need to decide whether a town council is for them.
Councillors Simon and Dawn Seary have written to Leeds City Council asking them to begin the process of setting up a non-political Pudsey Town Council.
To trigger this formally, they will need around 7.5% of local electors to sign a document to petition for a community governance review.
The National Association of Local Councils say that once submitted, Leeds council will validate the signatures and conduct a review within 12 months of submission, which includes consultation with residents and other stakeholders.
There will then be a review and consultation process, before Leeds Council makes a final decision on whether the council should be formed.
Once approved, the new parish or town council will be established, and council members will be elected.
As you can tell, there’s a long way to go before the idea of a Pudsey Town Council can become a reality.
More details of the process can be found here.
Pudsey deserves its own parish council, as do Farsley and Calverley.
Pudsey originally had a Board of Guardians (part of the Poor Law system which was the established method of providing social welfare from the 17th century). It became an urban district in 1894 and a municipal borough in 1900, entitling it to elect a Mayor (Incidentally it was the last borough created by Queen Victoria). In 1937 Pudsey Municipal Borough took over the urban districts of Farsley and Calverley.
The extra council tax payable by residents for a parish council depends on the rateable band in which their home falls, but will probably be between £14 and £42 a year.
The main problem with a parish council is that it has little powers but the principal authority (Leeds) will start relying on it to pay for things such as speed warning cameras, festive lights, footpath improvements and parks maintenance some of which Leeds Council often pays for in areas that have no parish council.
I am interested in supporting this proposal