A council which serves one of the largest villages in East Hampshire has received a prestigious award from a national body.

The National Association of Local Councils have handed a Quality Award to Liss Parish Council for their good governance, community engagement and improvement.

The council was also lauded for “going above and beyond” with its legal obligations, leading the community and continuously seeking opportunities to improve and further develop.

Social media and community engagement are among the council’s strengths according to assessors, with LPC chairman Cllr Keith Budden congratulating the team for the accolade.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted that the hard work of our clerk, Sarah Smith, and her team, together with the efforts of our councillors, has been formally recognised.”

The Quality Award is only handed to “best practice” councils which achieve excellence in governance, community leadership and development. 

The NALC Award Scheme is a peer-assessed programme which aims to reward and encourage councils to drive up standards.

A spokeswoman for LPC said input from residents is always welcome as the council is always looking to improve and deliver services whilst being efficient and cost-effective.

Their services range from maintaining and enhancing community and recreational facilities like the Liss Pavilion, village hall and Riverside Railway Walk to commenting on planning applications.

Recent key projects have included a public consultation on how to improve the village centre and pushing plans to extend the London-bound platform to reduce waiting times at the Station Road level crossing.