New Year, New Name

The lack of posts on this blog in recent weeks shouldn't be taken as a lack of news to report from the world of the parish council - just my tardy efforts at spending a bit of time on here keeping people informed at to what's going on, and sharing my views on the world of local councils! However, it is my intention that normal business will now resume, and so I'll use the next few posts to bring everyone up to speed as to what's been happening over the last few weeks.

The purpose of this particular post is to let everyone know that, 118 years after it was established, Shilton Parish Council is no more, to be replaced by Shilton & Barnacle Parish Council. Actually, everything apart from the name has stayed the same, and in reality it's business as usual!

I blogged back in July last year that the parish council was considering changing its name to better reflect that it represented the villages of Shilton and Barnacle. The parish council itself voted unanimously to change the name, and residents were consulted to seek their views. No responses were received to an article in the BASIS magazine, and an online poll on this blog suggested a 2 - 1 majority in favour of changing it (although disappointingly for me, none of the five people who voted to keep the name as it was actually said why they favoured the status quo - which might have allowed the parish council to address or allay their concerns).

The power to change a parish council's name actually rests with the local borough council, so at its meeting on 11 December, Rugby Borough Council - on the advice of its Legal & Elections Manager - voted to approve the change in the parish council's name to Shilton & Barnacle Parish Council, and from the beginning of this year, the new name was adopted.

A small change perhaps, but if a parish council is to speak on behalf of a community with authority, then part of that authority comes from the community feeling like the parish council is their parish council, and that it represents their best interests. Reflecting in the name that it's the local council for two villages in the borough will, I believe, help it to strengthen the authority with which it speaks.

As a consequence of the name change, the parish council's logo has undergone a refresh, which will be particularly useful as it seeks to increase its online presence (more of that later!) As ever, comments, criticisms or suggestions are very much welcome regarding the new name and/or its visual identity.