Services – What we do

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What Does Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council Do?

Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council is one of over 730 community and town councils throughout Wales. It is a separate organisation from Powys County Council. Made up of 16 elected town councillors and 2 community youth representatives – who work voluntarily – We also employ 6 full-time and 4 part-time members of staff.

All town and community councils have a limited set of powers, set by Acts of Parliament.

The basic purposes of a town council can be summed up in six lines:

• Democratic representation as the voice and leader of its community
• Provision of services either directly or by commissioning them
• Enabling others in the community to do things
• Influencing others in and around the community to do things
• Being a communications channel for information from and to the community
• Holding other authorities to account

The Town Council is currently responsible for the following services in the town:

• Gardens maintenance (Robert Owen Gardens, War Memorial Gardens, St Mary’s Church)
• Play areas maintenance (Town Playpark, Maesyhandir, Sycamore Drive)
• Public toilets (Back Lane & Gravel car parks)
• Install some benches • Town centre hanging baskets, bunting & lamppost banners
• Christmas lights & Kicking Off Christmas event
• Food Festival event
• Tuesday market
• Small number of waste bins
• Town clock (mechanism and bells)
• Support for Citizens Advice
• Host and staff Robert Owen Museum
• Host & staff Tourist Information Point
• Community & tourism event grants
• Promotion to tourists / visitors
• Tourism signage and maps
• Promotion of “Walking Newtown” walks
• Green Spaces
• Activities with French twin town Les Herbiers
• Heritage trail
• School crossing patrols
• Games area in Trehafren / Vaynor
• Respond to surveys on behalf of the town

The town council has four basic roles…

Source: Independent Review Panel 2018

Its unique feature is that it operates at a very local level, is democratically accountable, and is able to raise resources.

The town council’s overall vision is:

The Town Council will, through trusted leadership, help provide a community and town which is sustainable, prosperous, resilient and with a strong sense of identity in which people choose to live, learn, work and to visit.

…and to achieve this…

The Town Council will serve and represent the interests of its citizens and community directly or through others, within its legal powers and resources, by:

Securing, protecting, improving and providing quality services for people and future generations

Securing, protecting, improving and providing a safe, sustainable and healthy economy and environment

Using resources efficiently, economically, sustainably and effectively in order to achieve continuous improvement.

What We Don’t Do

The Town Council is NOT responsible for the following services:

• Hospitals / healthcare
• Policing / CCTV
• Roads / highways
• Waste / rubbish collection
• Planning applications
• Council housing
• Benefits
• Education and Schools