The Role of Parish Councils
There are three tiers of Local Government in Astley Village - County Council, District (or Borough) Council, and Parish Council. Each tier has distinct responsibilities and works together to serve the needs of residents.
Parish Councils represent the first tier of local government - the level closest to the community.
Local Authorities - Who Does What? Parish Councils - Tier 1They provide valuable local insight and are increasingly taking on more community-focused responsibilities. These can include:
- Supporting local events and community groups
- Managing assets such as community centres, play areas, and noticeboards
- Reporting local issues like potholes, littering, and dog fouling
- Advocating for the needs and interests of residents to higher-tier authorities
They play an essential role in making their communities better places to live, work, and visit.
District Councils - Tier 2Astley Village Parish Council comes under Chorley Council who has responsibility for:
- Collection of council tax and business rates
- Refuse, recycling, and litter collection
- Housing services and homelessness support
- Planning applications and local development
- Environmental health, including noise and animal nuisances
- Maintenance of parks, play areas, and open spaces
- Management of allotments
For information on District Council services:
Website: www.chorley.gov.uk
Phone: 01257 515151
Email: contact@chorley.gov.uk
Astley Village Parish Council comes under Lancashire County Council who has responsibility for:
- Children, education, and families
- Health and social care
- Transport and travel
- Roads, potholes, repairs, and gritting
- Recycling centres
- Fire and public safety
- Flooding
- Libraries and archives
- Trading standards
- Births, marriages, and deaths
For more information on County Council services:
Website: www.lancashire.gov.uk
Phone: 0300 123 6701
Email: enquiries@lancashire.gov.uk
Astley Village
The Astley Village of today goes back to the 1970's when it was constructed by the Central Lancashire New Town Corporation, which covered Preston Chorley and South Ribble. Originally called Astley Park, some residents and businesses, still use that address today.
However people have lived in the area for a very long time as the stone marker in the garden of Astley Farmhouse indicates. A dig on that site in the 1970's found evidence of a Bronze Age burial.
Astley Village is built on the fields of the home farm of Astley Hall and the names of the fields are preserved in the names of the roads, Merefield, Great Meadow, Long Croft Meadow and Broadfields. Long Copse, Harewood, Judeland, Deerfold and Studfold preserve the names of the woodlands and enclosures of the Astley estate. The Elizabethan Hall and park were gifted to Chorley as a war memorial after the Great War but do not form part of Astley Village itself, although Hallgate in Astley Village is one of the three main entrances to the park.
The village has changed much over the years, having lost its squash club which became a restaurant and bar and is now a private special school. The supermarket and hairdressers went but we now have a pharmacy and still retain our post office. The school is bigger and now has a nursery class. The original pub has been replaced by a popular pub restaurant. A children's hospice, Derian House serves the people of Lancashire and beyond, from Astley Village. Chorley Council has developed a sports hub on Westway playing fields, which also provides event parking for the many events held in Astley Park.
A group of residents campaigned for a parish council which held its first meeting in the community centre in 1991, where it still meets today. Welcome to Astley Village.