Understanding Town and Parish Council Needs for a Sustainable Devon Interim Report

By Gregory Borne

2008

ISSN: 2041- 6741

Promoting Sustainable Communities Vol 1, 1

2

Understanding Town and Parish Council Needs

for a Sustainable Devon

Interim Report

November 2008 By Gregory Borne

3

Contents Acknowledgements 5 Executive Summary 6 Introduction 8 Background to Research 8 Aims 8 Methodology 9 Preliminary Results 10 Demographic Information 10 Training and Education 17 Access to Training 19 Community 21 Mechanisms for Achieving Sustainable Communities 23 Partnership 23 Responding to Risk 25 Solutions for the Future 28 Conclusion 30 Future Directions 31 References 32 Index of Figures Figure 1: Gender 10 Figure 2: Age 11 Figure 3: Occupation 11 Figure 4: Education 12 Figure 5: Role in parish/town 12 Figure 6: Motivation 13 Figure 7: Effect on parish/town 13 Figure 8: Awareness of role within parish/town council 14 Figure 9: Continue to be a member of the parish/town

council in the future 14 Figure 10: Residence in parish/town 15 Figure 11: Settlement type 15 Figure 12: Priority issues 16 Figure 13: Education and training needs 17 Figure 14: Willing to participate in training 17 Figure 15: Require special skills 18 Figure 16: Primary skills 18 Figure 17: Fund own training 19 Figure 18: Travel for training 20 Figure 19: Distance to training 20 Figure 20: Training delivery 21 Figure 21: Community 22 Figure 22: Community focus 22 Figure 23: Community area 23 Figure 24: Work in partnership 23 Figure 25: Partners 24 Figure 26: Awareness of sustainability mechanisms 25 Figure 27: Awareness of sustainable development related issues 26 Figure 28: Heard of global warming? 27

4

Figure 29: Parishes carbon footprint 27 Figure 30: Causes of global warming 28 Figure 31: Heard of sustainable development? 29 Figure 32: Basic elements of sustainable development 29 Figure 33: What is sustainable development? 30

5

Acknowledgements The author of the interim report ‘Understanding Town and Parish Needs for a Sustainable Devon’ would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following people; the research team including Ian Sherriff, Helen May and Ruth Watkins. Thanks also to Lesley Smith; Chair of the Devon Association of Local Parishes for her co-operation and also to councillors and staff of the many parish/town councils who took the time to participate in the research; without their co-operation this work could not have taken place. Finally, thanks to the South West Lifelong Learning Network (SWLLN) for commissioning the work, particularly SWLLN Director Belinda Payne and Curriculum Development and Vocational Practice Development Unit (CDVPU) Strand Leader Nick Wiseman.

6

Executive Summary This research aims to understand the education and training needs for parish and town councils in the context of achieving sustainable communities. There is a particular focus within the research on understanding these needs, not just now but also in the future. As such, the following outlines the main preliminary findings of the research. Results are presented in this report in the context of ‘work in progress’, final results, conclusions and recommendations are subject to the collection and analysis of all data. Subsequent in-depth research is currently underway in order to gain a greater understanding of the following findings: Key Messages

• Based on the initial results there is an overwhelming feeling among members of parish and town councils that additional training and education is needed.

• Findings indicate that the nature of this education and training is

diverse, but that members of parish and town councils feel that there are special skill sets needed to operate effectively within their parish.

• Existing training and education are not able to meet the current issues confronting local communities.

• Members of parish/town councils would be willing to travel outside of their parish area in order to receive additional training and education

• There is an overwhelming feeling that there is a need to encourage

sustainable communities ‘but’ there is confusion over the action that should be taken.

• Following on from the above finding, whilst there is a high level of consensus that achieving sustainable communities is important there is confusion as to what sustainable communities and sustainable development more generally entail.

• There is a general lack of awareness of the existing mechanisms that could be employed in the local governance process that could contribute towards the creation of sustainable communities.

• Partnership is essential for the effective running of town and parish councils and the development of sustainable communities.

• There is concern over the effect of global risks such as global warming upon local communities, but there is need for further and effective communication of these issues. This is particularly the case between the national and local levels of government

7

• In order for the development of policies that will enhance sustainability at the community level, there needs to be a clear synergy between the national, regional and local areas.

8

Understanding Town and Parish Needs for a Sustainable Devon Introduction This report will outline the main interim findings of recent research conducted on behalf of the South West Lifelong Learning Network into the training and educational needs for Devon parishes/town councils in order to create sustainable communities. At this stage only a brief analysis of the data is offered. Upon conclusion of the data collection stage of this work a full analysis with associated recommendations will be available. This report is organised in the following manner. Initially, a brief background to the research will be provided, this will be followed by outlining the specific aims of the project. Next, the methodology used in collecting the data will be briefly discussed followed by the main findings of the survey. Conclusions will reiterate the findings presented in the executive summary and also outline action for the future. Background to the Research Rapid changes facilitated by processes of globalisation are fundamentally altering governance structures worldwide (Beck 1999, 2006; Borne 2009a). These processes are having profound effects on organisational structures from the United Nations through to more localised public sector organisations. Recent British Government reports (Leitch 2006; Lyons 2004; Stern 2007) as well as more overarching governmental policy documents (CALG 2008; DCLG 2006; HEFCE 2005; HMGOV 2005; ODPM 2003) are beginning to translate these rapidly altering global processes into concrete political imperatives. The changing context from within which public sector organisations need to operate directly affect the types of skills, educational needs and general competencies that are required to operate successfully and efficiently. Recognising the potential skills gap, the South West Lifelong Learning Network has commissioned this project to create a resource upon which members of parish and town councils can enhance their skills base in order to respond to the aforementioned challenges. Aims The ultimate goal of this research is to provide the necessary base line information which can contribute to the development of effective and responsive training/education necessary to create sustainable communities. The idea of sustainable communities has become an important topic at all levels of government. It is a broadly defined idea that has formed under the umbrella of the broader concept of sustainable development. The World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 defined sustainable development as: ‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’

9

(WCED 1987:8). This definition represents the foundation for an understanding of sustainable communities. Within Great Britain the idea of developing sustainable communities was most comprehensively addressed in the Egan Review. The Egan Review (2003) commissioned by the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) defines sustainable communities as communities that: ‘…Meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, their children and other users, contribute to a high quality of life and provide opportunity and choice. They achieve this in ways that make effective use of natural resources, enhance the environment and promote social cohesion and inclusion and strengthen economic prosperity’ (Egan 2003:7). The review outlines the essential role that local authorities play in creating sustainable communities, and local authority sustainable community plans are identified as a positive outcome of this process. Whilst the review is primarily concerned with up-skilling professional workers, the importance of access to, and delivery of skills across communities is also seen to be of vital importance. Parish/town councils are the closest level of government to their communities and are therefore in a unique position to provide leadership and advice on achieving sustainable communities. This project therefore aims to understand not only what skills members of parish/town council’s feel they need in order to create a sustainable community but also what members of parish/town councils feel constitutes community itself. Ultimately, this project aims to provide a foundation upon which training and education can be developed through the extensive resource base of the South West Lifelong Learning Network directly accessible by the closest level of government to the community, parish and town councils. Methodology In order to achieve the above mentioned goals, the research is being conducted using a sophisticated multi-methodological framework, incorporating both primary and secondary evidence as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. An initial search of the available literature covered areas of theory (Beck 2006; Borne 2009a, 2009b), policy (Coulson 1999; Davies 2008; Pearce and Ellwood 2002), practice and implementation (Borne 2009c; Charnock 2007; Godfrey 2007; Fenwick and Bailey 2007; Jones and Newman 2006; Owen 2002; Newman 2005; Toke 2005; Yarwood 2002). Particular attention was paid to current policy documents and the changing ways in which parish/town councils are expected to operate. This report presents results from the quantitative component of the research which took the form of a survey. The survey was dispatched to all Devon town and parish councils (where contact details were available) in two mailings. Basic data and contact information was provided by the Devon Association of Local Councils (DALC) which formed the basis of the first mailing. Further information acquired from the DALC website provided the relevant information for the second posting.

10

The research is being conducted in two phases. Phase One is based around the aforementioned quantitative survey. Phase Two of the research will involve conducting in-depth interviews with members of parish and town councils. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods will provide a substantial and robust information source to assist in the development of sustainable communities. Preliminary Results Whilst at this stage it is too early to ascertain accurate response rates, based on the volume of returns, it is confidently estimated that over 60 per cent of the parish/town councils that have received questionnaires have responded to the survey, with this figure expected to rise. Based on the research to date, the following will present some preliminary results of the most significant findings. The results are ordered in the following manner. Initially, the basic demographic information of respondents, as well as the relationship that respondents have to their parish is presented. This is followed with a presentation of results relating directly to education and training. The next section examines the idea of community, particularly those elements of the survey that relate directly to achieving a sustainable community. This is followed by exploring how members of town and parish councils feel about increasing global and local risks such as global warming. The final section examines how respondents feel about overarching ideas for addressing these issues, with a focus on sustainable development. Demographic Information Figure 1: Gender

Figure 1 indicates the gender distribution in the overall sample. There are proportionally more male members, 60 per cent of parish councils, than there are female councillors at 40 per cent.

11

Figure 2: Age

Figure 2 displays the age distribution of the respondents. The majority of respondents were between 57 and 64; 20 per cent were between 49 and 56; 18 per cent were aged 65 to 72 and 10 per cent were aged 41 to 48. Respondents indicated that only 6 per cent were between 33 and 40; 1 per cent were between 26 and 32 and 0.5 per cent were between 18 and 25. Figure 3: Occupation

Figure 3 dispays the occupational distribution of respondents. The highest proportion of repondents indicated that they were retired. Following this the strongest occupational category was professional at 32.5 per cent. Further catagories are respectively; tradesman, 10 per cent, clerical/administrative, 8 per cent; manual workers, 4 per cent and housewife/husband at 3 per cent. No respondents were either unemployed or students.

12

Figure 4: Education

Figure 4 displays the educational distribution of respondents. As is apparent from the graph there is a relatively even spread of educational attainment amongst councillors. The highest proportion of educational attainment at 21 per cent was ‘O’ Level/GCSE; 20 per cent indicated that they were graduates achieving a degree level of education; 15 per cent had achieved ‘A’ level qualifications; 13 per cent indicated that postgraduate qualifications had been achieved; 12 per cent specified that they had non- conventional qualifications and 12 per cent responded that they had qualifications designated as other. Figure 5: Role in parish

Figure 5 illustrates that predominantly, 72 per cent respondents indicated that they were councillors within local parish and town councils; 15.5 per cent indicated that they were clerks, and 10 per cent responded that they were the Chair of their parish or town council.

13

Figure 6: Motivation for becoming a member of the parish/town council

Respondents were asked to indicate what motivated them to become parish/town councillors. As is evident from Figure 6, significantly, 87 per cent indicated that they became parish councillors in order to improve the well- being of their community; 1 per cent indicated that they became a parish councillor in order to improve their social standing; 2 per cent indicated that they became parish/town councillors because of an interest in politics; 10 per cent said there were other reasons, and 0.5 per cent indicated that they didn’t know why they became a parish/town councillor. Figure 7: Effect on parish/town councils

Overall, members of parish/town councils felt that they had a positive effect on their parish/town. The level of this effect varied significantly; only 16.5 per cent felt that they had a very positive effect on their parish/town; 31 per cent felt that they had a significantly positive effect on the their parish/town, and 35 per cent felt that they had quite a positive effect on their parish. A smaller

14

proportion felt that they had little effect on their parish, and 4 per cent felt that they had no effect at all on their parish. Figure 8: Awareness of role within parish/town council

Respondents were asked to indicate, on a scale of 1 to 5, if they felt they were aware of what their role within the parish/town council would entail prior to becoming a member. Members of town and parish councils indicated that 25 percent were very aware of the of what their role would entail; 25 per cent indicated they were aware; 25 per cent also said that they were quite aware; 12.5 per cent said they had little awareness of what the role entailed, and 10 per cent said they had no awareness of the what the role entailed before joining the parish/town councils. Figure 9: Continue to be a member of the parish council in the future

Respondents were asked to indicate if they felt that they would continue to be a member of the parish/town council in the future. As shown in Figure 9, the majority of respondents, 73 per cent believed they would continue to be

15

parish/town councillors in the future; 5 per cent indicated they would not continue to be parish councillors in the future and 20 per cent did not know whether they would continue to be parish/town councillors. Figure 10: Residence in parish

Figure 10 illustrates the length of time the respondents have resided in their parish/town. At 49 per cent the majority of parish/town members indicated they have lived in their parish/town for more than 20 years; 17 per cent indicated they have lived in their parish/town between 6 and 10 years; 12 per cent responded they have lived in their parish/town between 11 and 15 years; 11 per cent indicated they have resided in their parish between 1 and 5 years and 8 per cent said that they have lived in their parish/town between 16 and 20 years. Figure 11: Settlement type

Respondents were asked if they felt their parish/town was urban, rural or mixed. As illustrated in Figure 11, the vast majority of town/parish council

16

members felt their parish/town was rural, at a response rate of 84 per cent. Only 7 per cent felt that their parish was urban; 8 per cent indicated that their parish was mixed and 1 per cent said that they did not know whether their parish was urban or rural. Figure 12: Priority issues

Respondents were asked to rank the following issues in order of importance to them. 30 per cent indicated that health was most important to them; 28 per cent indicated that the environment was most important to them. A total of 20 per cent indicated that crime was most important to them; 10 per cent said that education was most important to them and 14 per cent said that social welfare was most important to them.

17

Training and Education The following section focuses on the main areas concerning the training needs of members of parish/town councils. Parish/town councillors and clerks were asked if they felt that they required special training to effectively operate in their respective roles. They were asked if they would be willing to participate in extra training and education. Figure 13: Education and training needs

One of the primary goals of this research is to ascertain whether there is a ‘need’ for further education and training amongst members of town and parish councils in Devon. Figure 13 illustrates the response rate with relation to required training and education needs. As is evident from this graph, 75 per cent of respondents felt that they required special training and educational needs and 25 per cent said that they did not feel additional training and education was needed. Figure 14: Willing to participate in training

18

Respondents were asked if they felt that they would participate in additional training and education if it was available. 68 per cent indicated that they would be willing to participate in extra training and education; 18 per cent felt that they would be unable to participate and 10 per cent said that they did not know if they would participate in extra training and education. Figure 15: Require special skills

Members of parish/town councils were asked to indicate whether they felt ‘special skills’ were required in order to effectively operate as a parish/town member in the future. As shown in Figure 15, 70 per cent of respondents indicated that ‘special skills’ were required in order to operate effectively as a parish/town member. Only 24 per cent indicated that they felt ‘special skills’ were not required. 3 per cent indicated that they did not know if ‘special skills’ were required. Figure 16: Primary skills

19

Respondents were asked to comment on whether they believed six core skills were necessary to operate as a member of the parish/town council. Figure 16 illustrates the aggregate of responses. 83 per cent indicated that communication skills were the most important in order to be a member of a parish/town council. Interpersonal skills also scored highly at 62 per cent. Leadership and management skills received medium percentage scores of 43 and 41 per cent respectively. At the lower percentage range, financial and project management skills were scored at 37 and 33 per cent respectively. The above establishes a clear demand for additional education and training. The following will outline how members of parish councils would like to access further training and education. Access to Training A number of questions in the survey were aimed to understand the various dimensions of members of parish/town council’s access to training. This included financial, geographical and course provision issues. Figure 17: Fund own training

Respondents were asked to indicate whether they felt they would financially contribute towards their own training. As illustrated in Figure 17; 65 per cent said that would not be willing to pay for their own training; 15 per cent said that they would be willing to pay for their own training; 14 per cent said that they did not know if they would be prepared to fund their own training.

20

Figure 18: Travel for training

Respondents were asked if they would be prepared to travel outside of their parish/town area for the additional training. As Figure 18 illustrates, 50 per cent said they would be prepared to travel for the training, Only 16 per cent said that they would not be prepared to travel for training and 5 per cent said that they did not know whether they would travel for the training. Figure 19: Distance to training

Respondents were asked to indicate how far they would be willing to travel in order to receive additional education and training. Nearly half of the respondents, 49 per cent, said they would be willing to travel more than 20 miles to receive their training/education; 11 per cent said that they would be willing to travel between 16 and 20 miles; 8 per cent said that they would be willing to travel between 11 and 15 miles; 4 per cent responded that they would be willing to travel between 6 and 10 miles and 1 per cent said that they would only be willing to travel between 1 and 5 miles.

21

Figure 20: Training delivery

In addition to understanding the nature of demand for education and training, the survey identifies the preferred medium for providing education and training. This also ascertains how the respondents feel they would like to access the training. Figure 20 displays how members of parish/town councils felt they would best like to receive additional skills. The majority of the respondents, 56 per cent, indicated that they would like to receive education and training through short courses. Following this, 40 per cent of the respondents said that they would like to receive education and training in a group environment; 27 per cent indicated that they would like to receive education and training through the medium of the internet and 6 per cent said that they would like to have one-to-one tuition. Community This section presents results from the part of the survey that examines sustainable communities. Community is an emotive issue. Policy aimed at achieving sustainable development and more specifically, sustainable communities, is becoming increasingly sophisticated at incorporating the complexities of the issues involved. With this said, however, there is still a significant lack of understanding of the way that community is perceived and understood. In the 21st Century the nature of community has changed significantly with advancements in technology, particularly transportation and the increasing speed of global communications. The following section outlines results from the survey that accesses members of parish/town and councils understanding of community.

22

Figure 21: Community

Figure 21 clearly demonstrates that the majority of respondents consider themselves to be part of more than one community. A total of 57 per cent consider themselves to be part of more than one community; 36 per cent indicated that they were not part of more than one community and 5 per cent said that their community was ‘other’. Figure 22: Community focus

Respondents were asked to indicate what they felt was the focus of their community. 61 per cent indicated that their community was focused on family and friends; 37 per cent indicated that their community was based around work; 29 per cent said that their community was based around hobbies and 6.3 per cent suggested that their community was based around the internet.

23

Figure 23: Community area

Respondents were asked to indicate what basic geographical areas they felt their community occupied. 86 per cent said their community was based around their local area; 24 per cent indicated that they are not geographically defined and 7.3 per cent thought their community was nationwide. With the issue of community explored within the context of the survey results, the next section moves to present the results on questions asked that related to the various mechanisms that exist for the creation of sustainable communities. Mechanisms for Achieving Sustainable Communities This section will present the interim results that pertain to the elements identified as contributing towards sustainable communities. The first overarching issue to be dealt with is the notion of partnership. Partnership Figure 24: Work in partnership

24

Partnership is often seen as an essential element to achieving sustainable communities and more broadly, sustainable development. Respondents were asked a number of questions relating to partnership. Initially, respondents were asked if they felt that working in partnership was important. As illustrated in Figure 24, an overwhelming majority of 90 per cent indicated that partnership was important; 7 per cent said that partneship was not important and 1 per cent said that they did not know if partnership was important. Figure 25: Partner

Respondents were asked to indicate what organsiations within the local governance structure they felt it was important to work with. Figure 25 presents the aggregate results of these responses. The highest rated partnership type was with district councils at 81 percent. Respondents indicated that county councils should be included in partnership working, 73 per cent; 72 per cent said that other parishes should be partners; 45 per cent indicated that the voluntary sector was important as a partner and 31 per cent indicated that the private sector was important for partnership. National government was seen as an important partner at 21 per cent and a unitary authority at 11 per cent. In conjunction with the overarching idea of partnership, a number of existing mechanisms and information sources are available that are designed to create sustainable communities. The following outlines the responses to these mechanisms.

25

Figure 26: Awareness of sustainability mechanisms

Figure 26 presents the aggregate results of respondents who indicated whether they were aware of a number of mechanisms that can be utilised for creating sustainable communities. As expected, a high proportion, 60 per cent were aware of the Quality Parish Scheme; 30 per cent were aware of Local Area Agreements and 11 per cent were aware of Comprehensive Area Agreements; 9 per cent had heard of the National Governments Act on Co2 document. Responding to Risk The debate surrounding the achievement of sustainable development and sustainable communities is often preoccupied with the alleviation of increasing global phenomena such as global warming. This is an issue that has both a global and local relevance. In order that relevant and responsive courses can be developed for members of parish/town councils, as well as broader public sector organisation, understanding how respondents feel about these issues is paramount. The following section will illustrate the results from part of the survey that refers to these issues.

26

Figure 27: Awareness of sustainable development related issues

Respondents were asked if they were aware of a number of issues that related to sustainable development. 98 per cent indicated that they had heard of climate change; 85.5 per cent said that they had heard of the ozone layer and 43.5 per cent said that they had heard of Agenda 21. A total of 86 per cent said that they had heard of biodiversity; 98 per cent had heard of global warming and 96 per cent had heard of the Carbon Footprint. Parish and town councils are increasingly responsible for effectively managing complex resources and responding to global issues that affect local community life. One such issue that has increased in importance in the past decade is global warming. International, national and local government organisations are increasingly being called upon in partnership with non- governmental organisations to help effectively manage the current and potential consequences of global warming. Respondents were therefore asked to indicate how they felt about this issue.

27

Figure 28: Heard of global warming

As displayed in Figure 28, a total of 98 per cent of respondents indicated they had heard of global warming; 1 per cent indicated that they had not heard of the term and 1 per cent indicated that they did not know. Figure 29: Parishes carbon footprint

Following the global warming line of enquiry, the respondents were asked to indicate whether they felt that they were concerned about their parishes carbon footprint. As is evident from Figure 29, the majority of respondents said that they were concerned about their parishes/towns carbon footprint at 54 per cent; 35 per cent said they were not concerned, and 7 per cent said that they did not know.

28

Figure 30: Causes of global warming

Respondents were asked to indicate which of four statements relating to global warming they felt was most appropriate. Figure 30 shows that the majority of the members of town and parish councils indicated global warming was made worse by humans; 9.5 per cent felt that global warming was all humanities fault; 8 per cent indicated that global warming was attributable to natural causes and 3 per cent indicated that global warming was not actually happening. Solutions for the Future As is clear throughout this report, there is a focus within this research on the creation of sustainable communities and more broadly, sustainable development. By focusing on this issue, education and training needs can be created that respond not only to current needs but also future demands. The British Government has indicated that parish and town councils will be at the vanguard of encouraging a sustainable development at the local level.

29

Figure 31: Heard of sustainable development

Considering the significance of the term sustainable development, Figure 31 shows that 68 per cent of the respondents indicated that they had heard of sustainable development and 22 per cent said that they had not heard of the term sustainable development. Figure 32: Basic elements of sustainable development

Sustainable Development is often broken down into three elements known as the three pillars or ‘the triple bottom line’. These three elements are society, environment and economy. Members of parish/town councils were asked to indicate which one of these pillars of sustainable development they felt the concept referred to. Figure 32 presents the aggregate results of this question. The majority of respondents, 68 per cent, said that sustainable development referred to the environment; 44 per cent said that it refered to the economy, and 42 per cent said that it referred to society.

30

Figure 33: What is sustainable development?

Respondents were asked to indicate on a scale of 1 to 5 to what extent they agreed or disagreed with four statements that offered interpretations of sustainable development. Figure 33 presents the aggregate of those who said that they agreed and strongly agreed to these statements. Predominantly, 77 per cent members of parish/town councils indicated that sustainable development was a way of preserving natural resources. Over half of respondents at 51 per cent, agreed and strongly agreed that sustainable development was little more than jargon to make governments sound greener; 37 per cent agreed and strongly agreed that sustainable development was more important than money, and 24 per cent agreed and strongly agreed that sustainable development meant protecting the environment at all costs. Conclusions The executive summary at the outset or this report outlined the overall findings of this preliminary report. The following will briefly reiterate the main findings at this point. Most significant to the overall aim of this project, it is clear that the members of the town and parish councils felt that additional training and education is necessary. Respondents felt that there is a special skill set that is required in order to operate effectively as a parish/town councillor. There is a firm willingness within parish/town councils to participate in additional education and training if provided. With regard to achieving sustainable communities, respondents felt that this is a desirable goal but there is confusion about what actions should be taken to achieve this goal. In line with this finding, there is a general lack of awareness of the existing mechanisms that could be employed in the local governance process that could contribute towards the creation of sustainable communities. With this in mind, there is an overwhelming feeling that working in partnership is an important part of parish and town council operations.

31

As outlined in the introduction to this report, the project aims to provide information that will help in the development of training and education that will equip members of town and parish councils with the relevant skills to handle future issues. There was a particular focus within the survey on global warming and a number of environmental issues. What was evident is that members of town and parish councils are concerned about the effects of global warming upon their communities. In order for the development of polices that will encourage sustainability at the community level there needs to be a clear synergy between the national, regional and local areas. The development and delivery of appropriate and up-to-date training and education programmes will take substantial steps in this direction. In sum, from these initial results two primary conclusions can be drawn:

• Firstly, that there is a considerable need for additional training and education on a number of issues. Councillors and clerks have indicated that special skills are required and that they are willing to commit time to developing these skills.

• Secondly, whilst respondents are aware of the terminology of sustainable development and sustainability, there is ambiguity concerning the meaning and relevance of these issues. Moreover, the mechanisms put in place to achieve the practical task of creating sustainable communities need to be more effectively communicated.

Future Directions This work is ongoing. Currently, data is still being received from the survey which will influence the results presented here. The survey has unlocked some interesting and exciting issues, which by the very nature of a survey can only be accessed at the surface level. The second phase of this project will involve conducting a significant number of in-depth interviews with members of parish/town councils who have volunteered to assist us with this study. Results from these interviews, in conjunction with the survey data, will provide a significant resource for the development of education and training programmes that are capable of responding to the challenges of the 21st Century.

32

References Beck U. (2006) Cosmopolitan Vision, Cambridge, Polity Press Beck, U. (1999) World Risk Society. Malden Mass, Polity Press Borne G., (2009a) Sustainable Development: The Reflexive Governance of Risk, Lampeter, Edwin Mellen Press Borne, G (2009b) Local Sustainable Development Governance in a Global Context. In 'The Handbook of Environmental Governance' (Burns Eds). Singapore, World Scientific Borne, G., (2009c) Achieving Sustainable Lifestyles or Encouraging a Counter Reflexivity: Exploring Motivations for Sustainability in a Mediated Risk Society Local Environment 14(1):95-109 Communities and Local Government (2008) ‘Communities in Control, Real People Real Power. www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/communitiesincontrol Coulson, A., (1999) Decentralisation and Democracy: The Neglected Potential of Parish Councils, New Economy 6(2):115-118 Charnock, G., (2007) Grass Roots Village Action Inspires other Communities to Take on the Challenge of Climate Change , Local Economy 22(1):75-79

Davies, J., (2008) Double-Devolution or Double-Dealing? The Local Government White Paper and the Lyons Review, Local Government Studies 34(1):3-22

Department for Communities and Local Government (2006) Strong and Prosperous Communities - The Local Government White Paper http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/strongprosperous, accessed 05/05/07 Egan, J., (2003) The Egan Review: Skills for Sustainable Communities www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/eganreview accessed 34/05/05 Fenwick, J., and Bailey, M., (1999) Local Government Reorganisation in the UK, Decentralisation or Corporatism, International Journal of Public Sector Management 12(3):248-259 Godfrey, C., (2007) Making a Difference, the Role of Parish Councils in Milton Keynes Local Economy 22(3):293-297 Higher Education Funding Council for England (2005) Sustainable Development in Higher Education www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_18/ accessed 24/06/08

33

HMGOV (2005) Securing the Future - UK Government sustainable development strategy http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/publications/uk-strategy/index.htm, accessed 04/08/06 Jones, A. and Newman, I., (2006) Parish and Town Council Clustering, Local Government Information Unit Leitch, S., (2006) Leitch Review of Skills, Prosperity for all in the Global Economy - World Class Skills, http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/leitch_review/review_leitch_index.cfm, accessed 23/03/07 Lyons, M., (2004) The Lyons Review: Independent Review of Public Sector Relocation http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/consultations_and_legislation/lyons/consult_lyons_index.cfm, accessed 05/06/05 Newman, I., (2005) Parish and Town Councils and Neighbourhood Governance, Report of a Joseph Rowntree Foundation Seminar held on 11 March 2005 ODPM (2003) Sustainable Communities Building on the Future http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/sustainablecommunitiesbuilding accessed 08/05/06 Owen, S., (2002) From Village Design Statements to Parish Plans: Some Pointers Towards Community Decision Making in the Planning System in England Planning Practice and Research 17(1):81-89 Pearce, G., and Ellwood, S., (2002) Modernising Local government: The Role for Parish and Town Councils Local Government Studies 28(2):33-54 Stern N., (2007) Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm , accessed 09/02/08 Toke, D., (2005) Explaining Wind Power Planning Applications: Some Findings from a Study in England and Wales Energy Policy 33(12):1527-1539 Woods, M., Gardner, G., and Gannon, K., (2006) Research study of the Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Our Common Future. Oxford, Oxford University Press

34

Yarwood, R., (2002) Parish Councils, Partnership and Governance: The Development of Exceptions Housing in the Malvern Hills District, England, Journal of Rural Studies 18(3):275-291