Which Council Does What

There are three Councils in Aylesbury:

The County Council, in County Hall

The District Council, on High Street

The Town Council, in Church Street, next to Buckinghamshire County Museum.

Each of these Councils provides a different set of services. Please click here to see the A-Z of services provided by all councils.

The County Council provides education, policing, major highways, Social Services and rubbish disposal etc. It is responsible for things that need to be dealt with on a County-wide basis. The District Council provides housing, environmental health, rubbish collection and street cleansing, and leisure facilities like Aquavale and Vale Park. It manages the affairs of Aylesbury Vale as a whole.

The Town Council exists especially to look after the interests of Aylesbury people.

It provides allotments, some of the hanging baskets, some of the planters that brighten our Town and dog hygiene and litter bins. Town Councillors also keep a very close eye on planning applications and developments in Aylesbury, and do their best to make sure the views of local residents are taken into account whenever changes are proposed. They act as a pressure group for the people, highlighting local issues and sometimes helping to prevent the District and County Councils from introducing changes that local people are opposed to. They can provide street furniture, bus shelters and street lighting. And they are in a very strong position to campaign for what local people say they want.

In addition to supporting local people through campaigns, the Town Council can assist residents' organisations to help themselves. For example, a considerable number of community groups have been helped to achieve their aims by a grant from the Town Council. The Council can also provide help in the form of expertise and guidance for groups undertaking new projects.

The Town Council can also bring great monetary benefits to Aylesbury. A lot of big projects, such as new leisure centres, are too expensive for Councils to fund these days. The Town Council has the power to provide seed money, which can be used to obtain very substantial match funding, sometimes as much as three or four pound to every one they can put up. This means that, say, £125,000 from the Town Council could be used to attract £375,000 of government grants, giving a total of £500,000 to provide what our townspeople believe they need. This is very good value for money.

Throughout the year the Town Council organises events which create fun for residents and, by bringing visitors in, boost the local economy. The Council also works in partnership with AVDC, giving funding towards Christmas lights, the Summer Street Festival and so on.

We think you’ll have to agree that your Town Council is a real asset, and that you will support the efforts of the Council to bring in more and more money for improvements in Aylesbury.