The Role of Parish Councils
There are three tiers of Local Government in Forton - County Council, District (or Borough) Council, and Parish Council. Each tier has distinct responsibilities and works together to serve the needs of residents.
Parish Councils represent the first tier of local government - the level closest to the community.
Local Authorities - Who Does What? Parish Councils - Tier 1They provide valuable local insight and are increasingly taking on more community-focused responsibilities. These can include:
- Supporting local events and community groups
- Managing assets such as community centres, play areas, and noticeboards
- Reporting local issues like potholes, littering, and dog fouling
- Advocating for the needs and interests of residents to higher-tier authorities
They play an essential role in making their communities better places to live, work, and visit.
District Councils - Tier 2Forton Parish Council comes under Wyre Council who has responsibility for:
- Collection of council tax and business rates
- Refuse, recycling, and litter collection
- Housing services and homelessness support
- Planning applications and local development
- Environmental health, including noise and animal nuisances
- Maintenance of parks, play areas, and open spaces
- Management of allotments
For information on District Council services:
Website: www.wyre.gov.uk
Phone: 01253 891000
Email: mailroom@wyre.gov.uk
Forton Parish Council comes under Lancashire County Council who has responsibility for:
- Children, education, and families
- Health and social care
- Transport and travel
- Roads, potholes, repairs, and gritting
- Recycling centres
- Fire and public safety
- Flooding
- Libraries and archives
- Trading standards
- Births, marriages, and deaths
For more information on County Council services:
Website: www.lancashire.gov.uk
Phone: 0300 123 6701
Email: enquiries@lancashire.gov.uk
Message from the Chair
Whether you are new to the area, or a long-established resident of Forton, we want the website to be an interesting and informative communication from the parish council.
Please tell us if there are things that we could add or change, to improve the information that is available on the role and responsibilities of the parish council.
Contacts for the clerk and members of the council are given on the Councillors page, we would like to hear from residents.
The council meets on the first Monday of the month at 7pm at Methodist Church Hall Hollins Lane Forton Preston Lancashire PR3 0AW. The agenda is published on the website, on the agendas and minutes page and on the noticeboards.
There is a sometime allocated, at the start of the meeting, for public participation, we do welcome residents to attend and see what the parish council does.
Best wishes,
Janet Huddart, Chair of Forton Parish Council