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A-Z of powers and duties of 'local councils'
Function Powers and Duties
Allotments Powers to provide allotments. Duty to provide allotment gardens if demand satisfied
Baths and washhouses Power to provide public baths and washhouses
Burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria Power to acquire and maintain. Power to Provide. Power to agree to maintain monuments and memorials. Power to contribute towards expenses of cemeteries.
Bus shelters Power to provide and maintain shelters
Bye laws Power to make byelaws in regard to pleasure grounds. Cycle parks, baths and washhouses, open space and burial grounds, mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.
Charities Duty to receive accounts of parochial charities.
Clocks Power to provide public clocks.
Closed churchyards Powers as to maintenance.
Commons and common pastures Powers in relation to enclosure, as to regulation and management, and as to providing common pasture.
Conference facilities Power to provide and encourage the use of facilities.
Community centres Power to provide and equip buildings for use of clubs having athletic, social or educational objectives.
Crime prevention Powers to spend money on various crime prevention measures.
Drainage Power to deal with ponds and ditches.
Education Right to appoint school governors.
Entertainment and the arts Provision of entertainment and support of the arts.
Gifts Power to accept.
Highways Power to repair and maintain public footpaths and bridleways. Power to light roads and public places. Provision of litterbins. Power to provide parking places for vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles. Power to enter into agreement as to dedication and widening. Power to provide roadside seats and shelters and bus shelters. Consent of parish council required for ending maintenance of highway at public expense, or for stopping up or diversion of highway. Power to complain to district council as to protection of rights of way and roadside wastes. Power to provide traffic signs and other notices. Power to plant trees etc. and to maintain roadside verges.
Investments Power to participate in schemes of collective investment.
Land Power to acquire by agreement, to appropriate, to dispose of. Power to accept gifts of land.
Litter Provision of receptacles.
Lotteries Powers to promote.
Mortuaries and post-mortem rooms Power to provide mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.
Nuisances Power to deal with offensive ditches
Open spaces Power to acquire land and maintain.
Parish property and documents Powers to direct as to their custody.
Postal and telecommunications facilities Power to pay the Post Office, British Telecommunications or any other public telecommunications operator for any loss sustained in providing post or telegraph office or telecommunications facilities.
Public buildings and village halls Power to provide buildings for offices and for public meetings and assemblies.
Public conveniences Power to provide.
Recreation Power to acquire land for or to provide recreation grounds, public walks, pleasure grounds and open spaces and to manage and control them. Power to provide gymnasiums, playing fields, and holiday camps. Provision of boating pools.
Town and County Planning Right to be notified of planning applications.
Tourism Power to contribute to organisations encouraging tourism.
Traffic calming Powers to contribute financially to traffic calming schemes.
Transport Powers to spend money on community transport schemes.
War memorials Power to maintain, repair, protect and adapt war memorials.
Water supply Power to utilise well, spring or stream and to provide facilities for obtaining water therefrom.

This list is intended only as a summary of the principal functions of local councils. It is not intended to be a definitive list of such functions. It is based on the DoE Consultation Paper, 'The Role of Parish and Town Councils in England'. August 1992.
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