Parish Council
What are parish councils?
Local councils are the first tier of governance and are the first point of contact for anyone concerned with a community issue. They are democratically elected local authorities and exist in England, Wales and Scotland. The term ‘local council’ is synonymous with ‘parish council’, ‘town council’ and ‘community council’.
There are over 10,000 local councils in England and Wales, representing the concerns of local residents and providing services to meet local needs. Parish councils have a wide range of powers including looking after community buildings, planning, street lighting, allotments. They also have the power to raise money through council tax.
What powers and duties do parish councils have?
Parish councils have a variety of powers and duties, all of which impact directly on the community.
The following are all under the remit of local councils:
- Allotments
- Burial Grounds, Cemeteries, Churchyards and Crematoria
- Bus Shelters
- Bye-laws – the power to make bye-laws concerning:baths and washhouses (swimming pools), cycle parks, mortuaries and pleasure grounds
- Clocks – public clocks can be provided and must be maintained
- Community Centres, Conference Centres, Halls, Public Buildings
- Drainage – of ditches and ponds
- Entertainment and the Arts
- Footpaths
- General Spending – parish councils can spend a limited amount of money on anything they deem of benefit to the community that is not covered by the other specific responsibilities described in this list
- Gifts – parish councils may accept gifts
- Highways – lighting, parking places, right to enter into discussions about new roads and road widening, consent of parish council required for diversion or discontinuation of highway, traffic signs and other notices, tree planting and verge maintenance
- Land – acquisition and sale of
- Legal proceedings – power to prosecute and defend any legal proceedings in the interests of the community, power to take part in any public enquiry
- Litter – provision of litter-bins and support for any anti-litter campaigns
- Planning – parish councils may be notified of any planning applications for the area
- Postal and Telecommunication Facilities – power to pay a public telecommunications operator any loss sustained in providing services in that area
- Public conveniences – provision and maintenance of public toilets
- Recreation – provision of recreation grounds, public walkways, pleasure grounds, open spaces, village greens, gymnasiums, playing fields, holiday camps and boating ponds
- Rights of Way – footpath and bridleway maintenance
- Seats (public)
- Signs – danger signs, place names and bus stops signs
- Tourism – financial contributions to any local tourist organisations allowed
- Traffic Calming
- War Memorials
- Water Supply – power to utilise stream, well or spring water and to provide facilities for general use
The Stinchcombe Parish Council Members are:
This is a list of the current members of the Stinchcombe Parish Council.
Mr Simon Packer ( Chair)
Mr Packer has been living in Stinchcombe since 1999. He has brought up his three children in the village. He now feels he would like to make a contribution to the village by joining the Council.
Ms Kath Hudson ( Vice Chair)
Ms Hudson is a former social worker and environmental consultant who has lived in the village for over 20 years. She has been involved in conservation work on Stinchcombe Hill, litter-picks etc.
Mrs Shaw has been a member of the Council for many years and has acted as both Chair and Vice Chair in the past. She has lived in Stinchcombe for more than thirty years and currently represents the Council on the Village Hall committee.
Mr Ian Kirkham
Ian is married with two grown up children. He and his wife Jayne have lived in Stinchcombe for 9 years having spent the previous 27 years in Reading. They are fortunate to be able to work from home most of the time. Ian works for Actian as a Software Architect; they are a US company based in Palo Alto and he has worked with them for 14 years.
He has a wide range of interests, some of which are particularly practical and others that register high on the nerd scale & are best avoided in conversation. He has usually been involved in his local communities since serving as a Student Representative as part of his Gold DofE award. At Nottingham University he was on the Staff-Student consultative committee for the Psychology Dept, on the Computing Society committee and served on the University’s Nightline.
He moved to Reading to work for Digital Equipment Corp & married Jayne. As their family grew up he served as a parent governor before being drawn into scouting, initially as a Skills Instructor, then as Scout Leader for 10-15yr olds, then leading the 14-18yr Explorer Scouts; there followed a 7 year stint as the District Commissioner responsible for Central Reading’s 16 scout groups. This role was like that of a company boss who would be able to hire and fire except your ‘hires’ are volunteers and they’re more likely to walk if you are at all heavy handed. Safeguarding issues get focussed at this level and it’s usually the case that you’d be the last to know of any successes and first in the queue for any flak.
Mrs D Davidson
Mrs Davidson has grown to love Stinchcombe during the three years she has lived here. She is keen to preserve its character and to be part of a strong team ensuring that any changes are in keeping with what the community wants.
Clerk to the Council – Mrs Nola Bradley
Wardens and Representatives
The Current Wardens are:
- Mr Ian Kirkham – Tree Warden
- Mr Andrew Davidson – Footpaths Warden
- Mr Chris Davies – Snow Warden
- Mrs Julie Thomas – Representative to Stinchcombe United Charities
- Mr Laurie Bradley – Representative to Dursley United Charities
Local Councillors
Gloucestershire County Council –
Cllr Linda Cohen
Stroud district Council –
- Cllr Ken Tucker
- Cllr Catherine Braun
- Cllr George James
FOR FURTHER CONTACT INFORMATION SEE “CONTACT US”
View the Code of Conduct for members of Stinchcombe Parish Council and the current registration of member’s interests under Downloads or at Stroud District Council
Further information can be seen on the following pages:
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