IN light of last week's stormy parish council meeting, this week Times Past will cast its eye over the history of local government in Formby.
Local government appears to have arrived in 1894, when Formby was run by West Lancashire Rural District Council. And controversy was not far away, even then. Councillor Sean Brady, who attended last week's meeting, has posted an entry on his blog about Formby's first parish council on his blog.
He describes the tensions between the council and the Formby Times, which was critical of the bodies performance. Cllr Brady writes:"The local newspaper of the day, The Formby Times, was full of constantly critical reports as the new members struggled to come to terms with the requirements of the law. Week after week in early 1895 the equivalent of the editorial complained of the lack of competence and compared the Council unfavourably with the newly established Parish Council in Ainsdale."
However, Formby people were less than happy with remote rule from Ormskirk, and a groundswell of opinion led to the formation of the Urban District Council in 1905.However, as Formby's population began to boom during the mid 20th century, this body became less able to serve the needs of the people it was meant to represent.
In 1997 a Local Government Commission for England survey discovered that many Formby people began to feel marginalised and frustrated with the quality of council services. This report led to the emergence of Formby Area Committee, which is currently chaired by Councillor Vincent Sedgley Platt.
However, by 2001, Formby Civic Society and Claire Curtis - Thomas MP joined forces to press for the establishment of a parish council. A public meeting was held, at which 75% of the audience agreed that there should be a submission to the Deputy Prime Minister's Office.
The first Formby Parish Council elections were held in January 2004, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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