Find your local Councillors here

Find your local authority here

3. Contact your Councillors

All - Inform Others - Organise - Contact Councillors - Contact MP - Inform Groups
Write Letter - Gather Petition - Organise Protest - Contact Media - Present Case

You voted in local elections, you have a right to be represented by those Councillors elected in your ward [local government 'constituency']. They will normally number three, and may be of different political parties. It doesn't matter what their political persuasion, they are there to listen to you, and to act on your behalf. Again, they are more likely to effectively champion your cause if you can show that it's more than just one person's opinion [see 'Organise' above!]. They can speak at Council meetings, gain the support of fellow Councillors, and get Council officers [full-time employees] to do things -like provide information - on their behalf. They can provide facilities, contacts and advice, and will turn up to any meetings, visits or protests you arrange.

However, be warned, although Councillors can be very useful, they are not the be-all and end-all of any campaign you run. They may not feel so strongly about the issue as you, and only mechanically present your views. They may be members of the ruling party, and have one eye on development and building targets that are part of the policies on which they were elected. They may have particular briefs in the Council, which makes them less able to take up your cause, particularly if they are a member of the Planning Committee [often known as the Planning Development Control Committee], in which case they are supposed to be acting in a 'quasi-judicial' way [semi-legal, like a jury], and must act only according to the law, and not local opinion.

© 2006 / The Planning Resource Founding Trust