The Parish Council is the first tier of Local Government and is here to help the villages within the Parish.
We have responsibility for getting the grass cut, keeping the communal trees tidy, providing dog bins (and ensuring that they’re emptied), monitoring and responding to planning applications among many other things.
We normally meet on the first Tuesday of each month in Wootton Community Centre – (but are currently meeting online via Zoom – the details are on the Agenda).
What can Parish Council’s Do?
Duty to provide facilities
- Allotments – Duty to consider providing allotment gardens if demand unsatisfied.
Powers to provide facilities
Parish councils may exercise powers to provide, maintain and manage certain facilities:
- Buildings for community use, such as Community Centres
- Recreational facilities such as parks, playgrounds, playing fields and swimming baths
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Litter bins
- Public seats
- Public toilets
- Public clocks
- Cycle and motorcycle parking
- Maintenance of rights of way
- Guardianship of common land (such as village greens)
- Maintenance of war memorials
They may also provide the following, subject to the consent of the County Council:
- Bus shelters
- Lighting of roads and public places
- Off-street car parks
- Certain traffic signs and other public notices
- Provision, maintenance and protection of roadside verges
- Establishment or acquisition of markets, and provision of market places and market buildings
Consultative powers
Parish councils have the right to be consulted by the District Council:
- All planning applications in their areas
- Intention to provide a burial ground in the parish
- Proposals to carry out sewerage works
- Footpath and bridleway (more generally, ‘rights of way’) surveys
- Intention to make byelaws in relation to hackney carriages, music and dancing and street naming
- The appointment of governors of primary schools
Miscellaneous powers
Parish councils may also exercise the following powers:
- Sponsoring public events
- Support of the arts and provision of entertainment
- Encouragement of tourism
- Providing grants to local voluntary organisations
- Funding crime prevention measures
- Funding community transport schemes
- Contribution of money towards traffic calming schemes
- Cleaning and drainage of ponds, watercourses and ditches
- Power to obtain water from any well, spring or stream
- Creation of a neighbourhood plan
- Power to acquire or dispose of land
- Withholding of consent to stop up unclassified highways and footpaths
- Appointing trustees of local charities
- Power to make byelaws in regard to pleasure grounds, cycle parks, baths and washhouses, open spaces and burial grounds, and mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.