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What is a Parish Council? What does it do? Under recent local government re-organisation Buckinghamshire County Council opted for a continuation of the three tier system of County, District, and Parish councils, Parish being the third level close to the grass roots. A parish council is an elected body, and is re-elected every four years. Hughenden Parish Council is divided into four wards; Great Kingshill ( 3 councillors), Hughenden, including North Dean and Bryants Bottom ( 4 ), Naphill, including Walters Ash ( 4 ), Widmer End (4), making a total of 15 councillors. The elections of the Chairman and Vice Chairman, and appointment of committee members, take place annually at the Annual General Meeting prior to the May Council meeting. A Parish Meeting also takes place during May and is held in each of the four wards on a rotation basis. This provides an opportunity to meet Councillors, to discuss the recent work of the Council, and to make suggestions. The Council meets each month, with the exception of August, on the second Tuesday of the month. The Council has three main committees which look in detail at all matters within their particular remit and bring recommendations to Full Council; Finance and Administration, Services and Planning. The Finance and Administration Committee deals with all administrative matters and recommends the annual budget. The Council’s main income is from the annual precept which is submitted to Wycombe District Council and then included in the Council Tax. This year, 2009/10, Hughenden is one of the few councils to have kept its budget at the same level as the previous year, ie. £155,000. This Committee usually meets four times a year. Hughenden Parish Council tries to spend its income to the benefit of the whole community. For example, administrative expenses about £56,000, Garden of Rest and other open spaces £35,000, play areas £30,000, grants £14,000. The Parish owns and maintains two children’s play areas, and maintains four others owned by the Village Halls. Three areas of land are used, mainly by young people, for football and cricket. Other land assets include a number of conservation areas such as woodlands at Widmer End and Vincents Meadow in Naphill, all open to the public, allotment gardens, and the Garden of Rest at Four Ashes. All are maintained using local contractors. Annual grants are made to all the Village Halls to assist with their running costs, and the Council considers making further grants to assist with major projects when requested. The Council also makes annual grants to help defray the cost of village newsletters. Why does the Council spend money in this way? If the villages did not provide these facilities the Council would have a moral obligation to do so. With an area as diverse as ours this would be an impossible drain on resources. Therefore the activities of Village Hall Councils make a very important contribution. The Services Committee meets four times a year and deals with all aspects of the Parish’s assets, as indicated above. The Planning Committee meets every three weeks. Hughenden Parish Council is consulted in an advisory capacity by Wycombe District Council on all planning applications within the Parish. The final decisions on all applications are made at District level. The monthly Council meetings, and all Committee meetings, are open to the public. The date and times of meetings, together with the agendas, are posted on the Council notice board at the Parish office at least three working days before the meetings. |