Your Hordle AUGSEPT 22 (3) (1)

Which council does what?
38
Dear All,
Iquite often get asked, “which councilshouldI
go to”for this andthat, so Ithought it may be
useful to set outthe main responsibilities of
each council once again, particularly fornew
residentsrecentlymovingintoNew Milton or
itssurrounding areas.
Firstly, thereisyourverylocaltown or parish
council. They have alocaloffice in thetownor
village fromwhere atown or parish clerkand
team work (althoughNew Milton Town Council
alsohave aNew Forest District Council officer
sitting in theirlocaltown office to helpwith
District Council matterssuchasbenefits,council
tax payments,‘buyingaparkingclock’etc).
Parish andtowncouncils maintainrecreation
andsportsgrounds andpavilions andother
localamenities. They tend to lead on youth
projectsand areconsultees on planning
applications. They also work with localpolice
on mattersofconcern to residentslocally.
Secondly, thereisNew Forest DistrictCouncil.
Theirmainofficesare in LyndhurstatAppletree
Court. NFDC employsofficers whoare experts
in theDistrictCouncil’s areasofresponsibility.
These includeplanningapplications(household
andlargersites, including theLocal Plan), waste
andrecycling collection, coastal protectionand
flooding, housing, benefits administration,
environmental health andnoise nuisance,pest
control, dogwarden,and oversightofour
leisurecentres.
National Park are provided by theDistrict
Council.
Lastly,there is thelargestcouncil,Hampshire
CountyCouncil, with itsmainofficesin
Winchester at ElizabethIICourt andits council
chamber at TheGreat Hall. Hampshire County
Council servesall residentsfromthe south
coast up to Basingstoke. It is responsiblefor
children’sservices(education,safeguardingand
childrenincare,buildingschools),adultservices
(care forthe elderlyand thosewithdisabilities),
public health(e.g. leadingthe Covid response
across thecounty, forexample), mental health
services, sexual healthservices, addiction
services, school nurses andhealthvisitors,
scrutinyofNHS healthservicesacross
Hampshire), HampshireHighways (roads,
drainage,flood response),public transport,
leadingonclimate change actionacross
Hampshire,economic development acrossthe
county, disposalofwaste andprocessing of
recycled items, therunning of Hampshire
libraries, museums, country parksand farms,
registrationofbirths, deathsand marriages,
mineralsand quarryplanning.
Ihopethisgives new residents, andmaybe
some existing residents, an overview of the
councils serving you. If youwanttofind out
somethingspecific, visit your councils’websites,
alleasily foundonline. Thereisawealth of
informationonthose websites. Youcan also
contact your District andCountycouncillors and
MP herebyputting in your postcode:
www.writetothem.com.
New Forest District Councillargely surrounds
theNew Forest National Park (based in
LymingtonTown Hall), whichisgovernedbyits
own National Park Authority andhas itsown set
of planning rules, givenithas many
environmentally sensitive areas andlisted
buildings.Other councilserviceswithinthe
To advertiseemail:jqpeacock@gmail.com,orcall01590 643969 /07801 562358
Cllr Fran Carpenter
Hampshire County Councillor
New Milton North, Milford&
Hordle
01425 614665 /07867 502624
fran.carpenter@hants.gov.uk