March 2020 Parish Council receives award in National Scheme

Downend & Bromley Heath Parish Council has received a prestigious award as part of the Local Council Award Scheme. This achievement recognises that the council achieves good practice in governance, community engagement and council improvement. Moreover, Downend & Bromley Heath Parish Council goes above and beyond their legal obligations, leading their communities and continuously seeking opportunities to improve and develop even further.

The Award Scheme report highlighted the council's particular areas of strength, and it was specifically commented that this was a high standard for the level attained.

The Local Council Award Scheme is a peer assessed programme that has been designed to both provide the tools and encouragement to those councils at the beginning of their improvement journeys, as well as promoting and recognising councils that are at the cutting edge of the sector. It is through the sector working together to share best practice, drive up standards and supporting those who are committed to improving their offer to their communities that individual councils and the sector as a whole will reach its full potential.

Downend & Bromley Heath Parish Council's own Chairman was quoted as being "delighted in this achievement, mainly through the hard work and commitment of our Parish Clerk, Mrs Angela Hocking, with the full support and encouragement of our members".

In terms of the future, the council is now reviewing ways in which it can keep on improving its offer to the local community and welcomes input from local people and partners on this. Downend & Bromley Heath Parish Council and other local councils like it, are at the front line of the government's localism agenda and are doing as much as they can to deliver services whilst being efficient and cost-effective.

Photo shows Councillor Janet Biggin being congratulated on the Parish Council's achievement by Councillor Matthew Riddle, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council at that time.