What is a Parish Council and what powers do they have?

Parish councils are the lowest tier of government in England. They are no longer anything to do with the church, although they were in times past. The parish council is responsible for a parish, a small area normally enclosing one community. If the community is sufficiently large the council may be called a town council, rather than a parish council but its responsibilities and powers are identical.

Town and Parish Councils are an essential part of the structure of local democracy and have a vital role in acting on behalf of the communities they represent. They have a wide range of powers which essentially relate of local matters such as looking after community buildings, open space, allotments, play areas, street lighting, bus shelters, car parks and much more. They also:

• give views, on behalf of the community, on planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish;
• undertake projects and schemes that benefit local residents;
  work in partnership with other bodies to achieve benefits for the parish;
• alert relevant authorities to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken; and
• help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities.

Where do Parish Councils Get Their Funding?

The Council also has the power to raise money from its residents through taxation, “the precept”. The precept is the parish council’s share of the council tax. The precept demand goes to the billing authority, and South Gloucestershire Council collects the tax for the Parish Council. They may also receive grants and income in other ways and use these funds to help improve life for their local community in many ways.

The Role of the Parish Council for Planning

All planning applications within our parish that are sent to South Gloucestershire Council are copied to Charfield Parish Council for comment. When the Parish Council receives a planning application, it is placed on the next Parish Council meeting agenda. This is then discussed and a response voted on. There is a public participation item within the agenda for parishioners to state their opinions if they feel the planning application is contentious.

Once a decision has been reached the response is then sent to South Gloucestershire Council’s Planning Department, which takes the Parish Council’s views into account when deciding whether or not to pass a planning application, or whether to pass it with conditions imposed.

The Parish Council is duly informed of whether or not the planning application has been successful.

How does the Council handle the information it holds and how can a member of the public access it?

The Council has adopted in full the Information Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme. The details of how we apply the Scheme are laid out in the Charfield Parish Council Publication Scheme Nov 2008