The Parish Council is the closest tier of local government to you.
This site enables you to catch up on how your Parish Council is serving you and includes all the minutes of Parish Council meetings. If there is anything you feel the Council should be aware of, or where it can help or support you, then please contact the Parish Council.
Subscribe to our email News Update to receive news and agendas of upcoming parish council meetings.
The Council is responsible for:
- looking after village property, the greens, trees, playing field and the cemetery together with any street furniture
- maintenance of the closed churchyard
- street lighting
- general village improvements
- representation of the village to outside bodies
- comments on planning applications
- setting the precept – the money it will spend over the coming year doing all this.
Parish Council meetings are held on the second Monday of every month at 7.30pm in the village hall. Parishioners are welcome and each agenda includes a 15-minute session of public participation when parishioners may raise issues or make their views known to the council. Agendas and minutes are published on a separate page on this website.
What is a Parish Council?
Parish or Town Councils are an important tier of Government within the UK; a Parish/Town Council is the smallest and most localised tier of local government in the UK and is a properly constituted local authority.
The powers and duties, and the manner in which a Parish Council operates, are laid out in local government statute and regulations; Parish Councils operate at a level below national government and also below district, borough or unitary councils. Parish and Town Councils are elected and can help on a number of local issues, like planning applications or running local sports grounds and community halls.
The Parish Council has legal responsibilities as an employer, and sometimes as an owner of public land and buildings.
Parish Councils are Statutory Bodies, having powers under a number of different Acts (the Local Government Act 1972, the Public Health Act 1936, etc.). Only a few Councils need to use all their available powers. It is up to each Council to choose what is appropriate for the community they serve.
The Council raises funds by the annual Precept which is set in January of each year. The amount required is guided by the setting of the annual budget in the November preceding.
The Parish Council precept is added to the Council Tax bill and collected by Daventry District Council (from 1st April: West Northamptonshire Unitary Council), on behalf of the Parish Council.
The Council also raises funds through grants from other organisations.