By
Phil Blomberg
What
does it do? Who pays for it?
The
Parish Councils of the UK are the oldest authorities in the UK, based around
ecclesiastical parishes, in a system of local government that originated in the
feudal system of the 8th century.
The
Parish Councils were formed in England
in the 1890s to take over local oversight of civic duties in rural towns and
villages.
They
are the lowest, or first, tier of local government, and are elected bodies and
have variable tax raising powers. The Councillors are normal members of the
public who can be democratically elected into their posts if there is any
competition for their seats.
The
powers of Parish Councils are fairly limited. In Rodborough the Parish Council
looks after many of the local amenities such as the play areas, some of the
public grassed areas (not including the commons). Stroud District and Gloucestershire County Council s consult with the
Parish Council over matters such as planning applications, roads, pavements and
public footpaths. Other bodies such as the Police and the National Trust also
liaise with it as a recognised source of local info rmation.
The Council has its own staff and budget and can periodically address matters
such as road safety and long term planning strategies if it wishes to. It
operates a number of committees which report back to it.
Planning
and Transport Committee
Amenities
and General Purpose Committee
Finance
Committee
Fete
Committee The Staffing Committee.
In
addition the Parish Council can form working groups for tackling any individual
issues for which it would set a rough timescale to try to achieve its aims. At
the moment the Parish Council has two Working Groups: the Road Safety Working
Group and the Wallbridge Fields Working Group.
The
Parish Council also publishes this magazine which is almost self-funding from
adverts. The content is agreed upon by the Commoner Editorial Group which works
with the Parish Council to provide info rmation
on what is going on in the parish as well as items of local interest.
Phil
Blomberg
Chair of Rodborough Parish Council
(This piece was originally written for The Commoner, the magazine for Rodborough Parish)
(This piece was originally written for The Commoner, the magazine for Rodborough Parish)
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