Many parts of England have three tiers of local government:

• County Councils (e.g. Surrey County Council)
• District, Borough or City councils (e.g. Waverley Borough Council)
• Parish, Community and Town Councils (e.g. Godalming Town Council)

These are responsible for services across the whole of a county, like:

• education
• transport
• planning
• fire and public safety
• social care
• libraries
• waste management
• trading standards

If you live in Godalming then your County Council is Surrey County Council.

These cover a smaller area than county councils. They’re usually responsible for services like:

• rubbish collection
• recycling
• Council Tax collections
• housing
• planning applications

If you live in Godalming then your Borough Council is Waverley Borough Council.

These operate at a level below District and Borough councils.

They can help on a number of local issues, like providing:

• allotments
• community centres
• cemeteries
• grants to help local organisations
• consultation on neighbourhood planning

If you live in Godalming and have a GU7 postcode then your parish council is Godalming Town Council – that’s us!

A more comprehensive list of services and who is responsible for them locally can be found by clicking here.