WATLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Membership of the Parish Council
The Parish council has 11 councillors, who are elected for a four year period. If a vacancy occurs during the four years it can be filled either by a by-election if there is more than one candidate and 10 electors demand a poll, or by co-option. Co-option is where one or more candidates put their name forward to the council. If there is more than one person standing for co-option then a secret ballot is held by existing councillors.
The Parish Council is supported by a Parish Clerk who services Council meetings and carries out instructions of the Council made at each meeting. The clerk also has responsibility for maintaining the Council’s finances including a Cash Book, checking invoices, preparing cheques for payment and reconciling monthly bank statements.
The Annual Parish Council Meeting
The Parish Council year starts in May when the Annual Council meeting is held. This is a statutory meeting and must be held within 14 days of the election in an election year or otherwise any day in May. The first duties of that meeting are to elect the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, followed by appointments to outside bodies and to committees. This meeting is usually fairly short and at its conclusion is followed by a regular meeting of the Council.
The Annual Parish Meeting
The Annual Parish Meeting is an open meeting, although if the Chairman (or in their absence) the Vice-Chairman of the Parish Council is present they must preside at the meeting. Any local government registered elector for the parish is entitled to be present and speak and vote at the meeting. Very few of the decisions taken at a parish meeting are legally binding on the Parish Council and the usual remedy for electors if ignored is punishment of the existing council at the next election!
The Annual Parish Meeting must be held between 1 March and 1 June each year. The meeting is followed by a regular Council meeting.
Responsibility of the Parish Council
The Parish Council has a number of responsibilities in Watlington, some of them advisory within the local government structure and some direct.
Planning. All planning applications are assessed by the Parish Council and their views are taken into account when the Borough Council, as the responsible planning authority, makes its decision. The Parish Council has a committee of 4 members who decide on planning issues, their decisions being brought before the whole council for endorsement.
Play Areas. The Council is responsible for the play equipment in both the Recreation Ground in Church Road and the Warren Close Play Area, also the Skateboard Park. The Council must ensure that the equipment is regularly inspected, including a professional annual inspection. Weekly inspections are carried out by the Council’s retained Handyperson and action taken if necessary. (The Stone Close Play Area is the responsibility of the Borough Council.)
Footpaths and Footways. The Council makes regular inspections of the footpaths and footways in the village and can carry out any tidying or cutting back that is required or report to the County Council where further action is required. Strimming work on footpath areas is carried out by the Handyperson. (A footway is more often called a pavement.)
Open Spaces. The Council owns the Recreation Ground in Church Road, the Open Space in John Davis Way and the Warren Close Play Area, along with some of the smaller grassed areas in the village. These areas have to be maintained by the council, the most expensive item being that of keeping the grass cut. Minor repair works on the open spaces are carried out by the Handyperson. The Council has also recently leased the Glebe Lands behind the village hall and an adult football pitch is being created on the site.
Highways. Norfolk County Council is the highways authority, although the Council can put funds towards any new footways or traffic calming measures. Any highways project has to be approved by NCC and the level of funding by the Parish Council can be anywhere between 0% and 100% depending on a NCC standard assessment scheme. Highways problems can be reported through the Parish Council. Recently the Council has pushed through the installation of the zebra crossing scheme, which was funded by the County Council.
Grants and Donations. The Council has powers to give grants and donations to such bodies as Citizens Advice, the annual Poppy Appeal or village groups, for example. The annual Christmas Tree is also funded this way. There are strict rules limiting the total amount of donations made in each financial year. The Council also pays the local Parochial Church Council a sum each year for the maintenance of the churchyard.
Lighting. The Council is responsible for 79 of the street lights in the village, mostly in non-estate areas. Costs are involved in paying for power and maintenance on these lights. Each additional light cost in the region of £1600 to install and about £40 to light and maintain each year.
Litter.
The Council employs a Litter Picker for a total of 5 hours a week, with an additional Litter Picker for 3 hours during the summer months. Their duties are to work their way around the village clearing any dropped litter. The Council also has to fund any public litter bins in the village, although the cost of emptying these is met by the borough council.
Dog Litter. There are 11 dog litter bins in the village. Each has been purchased out of parish funds and the parish is charged approximately £50 a year by the Borough Council for each bin to be emptied.
Community Projects. The Council also assess projects that may be started by non-council bodies and can agree to fund and/or take over the ongoing maintenance of the project on completion. A recent example of this is the Skateboard Park.
Charities. The council has responsibility for the Edward Shouldham Charity, which has a small annual income from land rental and investments. Payments are available to the needy from the fund. The Recreation Ground technically has a charity attached to it but has no funds.
Consultation. The Council as the local representative body is also asked for the views on a wide range of issues that are decided by other bodies. This could include, for example, public transport, regional planning or community safety. At the start of every Council meeting there is an Open Forum section where you can come along and raise any parish matter. During the rest of the meeting only councillors may speak.
Village Hall. Although the Village Hall has its own Management Committee the Council are the trustees of the Village Hall and can have two representatives on the Committee.
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