NALC 19 August 2026
(National Association
of Local Councils)
Leading change in parish and town councils: The art of the impossible?
There are many barriers to change in parish and town councils, many of which are outside the council’s control. These barriers are usually complex, overlapping, unpredictable and open-ended problems. Problems such as continued underfunding of public services, the cost-of-living crisis, the public’s lack of trust in public services and disagreement about the real cause of, and possible solutions to, these problems. So, with so many barriers and no solutions in sight, is it worth attempting change and is it really possible?
When thinking about change, it’s easy to imagine it being big and dramatic. But in parish and town councils, change usually happens in small steps. Incremental change, adjusting bit by bit, is more realistic for councils and is usually more sustainable.
Incremental change is easier to implement for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it doesn’t require starting from scratch each time. Instead, it builds on what is already in place. Parish and town councils can use current systems, local knowledge and lessons learnt from previous change programmes as a base to build upon. For councils, this often means developing or improving established practices or services rather than replacing them entirely.
Parish and town councils are deeply rooted within their communities. They know what residents value and understand the unique challenges they face. This local knowledge helps them identify problems early, anticipate the impact of any proposed changes and be proactive rather than reactive.
By making changes incrementally, it also reduces risk. This is especially important for the smallest parish and town councils who are likely to be running on budgets of less than £25k. Small steps can be tested and refined or easily reversed if they don’t work, unlike large, dramatic changes which are often irreversible, and potentially costly.
When a parish or town council does propose to implement major change, certain factors will make the change more likely to succeed. Firstly, it’s crucial to frame the problem clearly so everyone understands and supports the need for change. Creating a sense of urgency can also help to build momentum and support.
For change to be successful in parish and town councils, support needs to come from both internal (members and officers) and external (residents, community groups, contractors) stakeholders. If stakeholders are not convinced change is needed, it won’t happen. To gain support, the need for change must be made clear, and a sense of urgency established. This is much easier in times of crisis when change can become essential, for example during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Urgency can also be established in times of normal operations by presenting an exciting vision of what change could look like and how it will improve things. It can also be achieved by exaggerating or inventing an issue. Councils should be cautious of this approach.
There may be disagreement about the nature of the problem (requiring change) and therefore the solution needed. This can be caused by different stakeholders holding different values or perspectives. This is particularly common in councils with political groups. To address this, the problem needs to be framed in a way that acknowledges the different viewpoints and establishes a shared purpose. Once this shared purpose is established, solutions can be sought. The test of a good solution is whether stakeholders agree on it, even when they have conflicting values.
Collaboration is essential for implementing lasting change within parish and town councils, but it isn’t necessarily easy to achieve. It requires everyone involved to have a shared understanding of the situation, to be working towards the same goal and to trust one another. Although this is not always possible, collaboration can benefit the change process in councils in the following ways:
Involving a variety of stakeholders helps with understanding the problem from various perspectives.
It improves the likelihood of groups with differing values and interests finding agreeable solutions.
There is a pooling of knowledge, skills and expertise.
It builds trust between groups and encourages joint problem-solving.
It can prevent game-playing or political point-scoring.
It helps implement a solution through coordinated action and mutual adjustments.
There is less resistance if all groups have shared responsibility and a collective identity.
Collaboration requires a shift in leadership. It won’t work if there is a top-down system with the vision and direction being set by the leader. Instead, there needs to be adaptive leadership where the leader frames the problem so that the stakeholders can agree on a shared purpose for themselves. The leader then facilitates discussions of potential solutions until a common goal is reached.
So, is change in parish and town councils really impossible? No, it isn’t, provided the right foundations are laid. The most important part is to make the need for change clear and establish a sense of urgency. Once this is established, it is much easier to build support, which is essential. Adaptive leadership is needed to support stakeholders in finding commonality and agreeing on a vision.
Once this is in place, the council can then focus on planning for the change and allocating resources whilst maintaining support.
Once change has been made, it’s crucial that it is properly embedded; otherwise, there is a real danger that things will go back to the way they were very quickly.