German Councils vs English Councils

Author: Gavin Barker

Municipal power is embedded in the German Constitution

In Germany, like other federalist systems, municipalities derive their powers from the German constitution, not from the central government. This means central government cannot override municipal autonomy without first amending the constitution – and that is deliberately difficult to do (see annex). 

There is no similar democratic guardrail in the UK because we do not have a written codified constitution. Parliament can amend or remove English local government with ease. All that is needed is a simple Parliamentary majority of one. Parliamentary supremacy applies to any law, no matter how fundamental to our wellbeing, and this makes our most important laws and institutions vulnerable to single-party rule based on narrow party-political considerations.

Spatial Planning and Local Services

German municipalities possess planning autonomy, while English town and parish councils have no statutory planning authority

English parish councils English town and parish councils

They have no statutory planning authority; their role is purely advisory (a statutory right to be consulted on planning applications) and involves drafting Neighbourhood Plans. These are subject to independent examination and local referendums. Such plans may or may not be adopted by the local authority.

German municipalities 

On average, a German municipality covers a population of between 6,690 to 7,400 inhabitants. These have full statutory power to draft and adopt legally binding preparatory land-use plans on which more detailed development plans (Bebauungsplan) are based. They do so under the Federal and State government (the Länder), which must align with the Basic Law. The framework is as follows:

The Federal Framework:

• The municipality must publish the draft plan and allow citizens and public agencies (like environmental groups) to submit objections. If this step is skipped, the plan is legally void.
• The municipality must also choose from pre-established land categories. For example, if a municipal authority wants to transform a former agricultural field on its outskirts into a new residential neighbourhood, it must choose “general residential area”, which includes houses, small shops, but no heavy industry.

The state (Länder) framework (state building code):

• Dictates exactly how much open space must be left between a house and the property line to ensure light and fire safety.
• It might also specify that for every apartment building with more than three units, a playground of a specific size must be built.

Within those rules, a municipal council decides exactly where the roads, parks, and houses go. If a private developer buys a plot in the designated land area, they cannot simply build whatever they want. They must apply for a building permit (Baugenehmigung). The local building authority compares the developer's architectural drafts directly against the municipal B-Plan, the state regulatory framework, and the federal regulatory framework. If the design complies with all three, the municipality is legally obligated to grant the permit.

A developer cannot challenge the B-Plan in court if they did not submit their objections during the official public participation phase.

Water and wastewater

English town and parish councils:
There is no municipal control of water and wastewater. The English system has completely decoupled these utility sectors from public control. Instead of income being recycled locally,  profits from water and sewerage services go directly to global shareholders.

German municipalities:
In Germany, the delivery of water supply and sewage treatment is dominated by public ownership, which is safeguarded under the constitutional principle of Daseinsvorsorge (public services of general interest). This entrenches political accountability and democratic oversight, ensuring that water management remains responsive to local needs rather than global shareholders.

Public-service legal structures account for 92% of wastewater treatment and 64% of water supply across the country. Municipal ownership is the primary form of public ownership – even for town councils with populations as low as 6,000. Rather than a single uniform model, such ownership operates through a variety of organisational and corporate structures. 

The predominant forms of public ownership include:

1. Municipal Utilities (Stadtwerke)

For urban areas, the most common form of public ownership is the integration of water supply with other public services, such as energy, gas, and local transport. There are two advantages to adopting this model:

• Minimal financial liability: It limits the municipality’s financial liability and separates utility operations from the core municipal budget. It also provides administrative flexibility to adapt to market conditions.
• Cross-Subsidisation: Municipalities can offset the losses of deficit-running public services (like swimming pools and public transit) against the profits generated by lucrative municipal energy grids. However, it is important to note that water and wastewater rates themselves are strictly cost-recovery and cannot be used to cross-subsidise other municipal activities.

Municipalities also have the statutory power to mandate that all local properties connect to and use the public water and sewage systems. This establishes a secure, local public monopoly that guarantees the financial viability of the public utility.

2. Inter-Municipal Special-Purpose Associations (Zweckverbände)

In rural regions and smaller communities, the predominant form of public management is inter-municipal cooperation.

• Pooling Resources: Smaller towns and villages often lack the technical expertise, personnel, or financial capacity to manage modern waterworks independently.

• Legal Structure: To overcome these limitations, they form public-law cooperative associations (Zweckverbände). These associations pool the regional water networks and wastewater treatment plants to achieve economies of scale.