What's in a name?
The name of a place, an organisation or product can provoke an emotional response, and trigger the brain to make a stream of connections. The Parish Council is no exception.
What do think of when someone says “Parish Council” to you? Do you think of the geographical area the parish covers, or maybe one of the specific parish wards? Do you think of it as a church community? Or do you give it no thought at all?
Our current name is “Shenley Brook End & Tattenhoe Parish Council”. The parish also covers the areas of Emerson Valley, Furzton, Kingsmead, Shenley Lodge, Tattenhoe Park and Westcroft – though you wouldn’t know that from our name! And so, this begs the question: Should we change our name?
There’s a lot to think about in that. For one thing, we don’t have to be called a “parish council” at all; we could be a “community council”, “town council” or even just a “council”…or maybe something completely different. Also, how can we best describe the area and identity of the parish, given that so many grid squares are covered? Is there anything in the geography or the history of the area that might be more relevant?
But what we should be called can only be considered after we have decided whether to change. That’s a question we feel the residents should answer. By population, ours is the largest parish in Milton Keynes, and we are proud to represent the residents of over 11,000 homes across all 8 parish wards, so we want to know what you think.
As it’s a big decision, we will be asking this single question until the end of 2025, and if you are in favour of a change, we will explore further steps from that point onwards.
This consultation has now closed. Results will be published in due course.
