A bit about Bosley Parish Council

 

What your Parish Precept is used for:

In Bosley the parish precept (which forms a very small portion of your Council Tax fund the parish council for the following expenditure:

 

• Childrens playground (Lakeside) - we maintain the playground, including safety inspections, repair, maintenance and replacement.
• Bus Shelters (x3) - maintenance
• Noticeboard - maintenance
• Community Speedwatch equipment
• Marquees (for village events use) - maintenance and replacement
• Event Tables & Chairs (for village event use) - maintenance and replacement
• Verge / footpath clearance (whilst this is the responsibility of CE Highways - we will try to improve on this where we can)
• Parish Clerk wages & expenses
• Association subscriptions
• Insurance (property & public liability) - incl cover for playground
• this website (hosting)
• Meeting room hire
• Special projects / grants for local benefit

 

 

What is a Parish Council?

A parish council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of the people in the parish. It is the level government closest to the community, and It sits under the local authority which for Bosley is Cheshire East Council (see https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_and_democracy.aspx )

As it is the authority closest to the people, parish councils can often be the first place people will go with concerns or ideas. For this reason they are a vital part of any community.

 

What decisions do Parish Councils make?

Parish councils make all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the local community. Probably the most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they don’t decide any planning matters but they are statutory consultees), crime prevention, managing open spaces and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities.

It’s true to say that on their own, parish councils have limited powers to make decisions. But they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions (such as Cheshire East Council, health authorities, police etc).

In this respect parish councils are extremely powerful. The organisations that make the final decisions know that a parish council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something, and its views will be taken seriously

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What powers do parish councils have?

They have a wide range of powers which essentially related to local matters, such as looking after community buildings (if any), open space, allotments, play areas, street lighting, bus shelters, car parks and much more. The council also has the power to raise money through taxation, the precept. The precept is the parish council’s share of the council tax. The precept demand goes to Cheshire East, which collects the tax for the parish council.

The Council meets every other month and considers planning applications and any other matters referred to it by local residents. Cheshire East and by central government. All meetings are open to the public. Residents can bring to the attention of the parish council anything that concerns them, either directly or through the clerk. If matters raised are not the responsibility of the council, the clerk can bring them to the attention of the proper authority.

 

Interested is becoming a Parish Councillor?

 

Why become a Parish Councillor?

If you’ve never been to a parish council meeting before, you may be forgiven for thinking that parish councillors are a group of (probably older) people who meet now and then in a draughty village hall. If, however, you live in a community where something ‘big’ has happened, you’ll know that when people in the community need support and guidance, it is sometimes the parish council that is turned to.

By becoming a parish councillor you become someone your community will look to for help, guidance and support, a community leader with the power to influence decisions for the benefit of the people you serve. Seeing your community change for the better, as a result of decisions you have helped make, is something that can give you a sense of achievement and pride.

 

How much time does it take up?

Meetings are held generally every 2 months (i.e. 6 per year) and may last up to about 2 hours, depending on the agenda set for the meeting to discuss. In addition to the regular meetings, councillors are required to do some preparation work for the meeting and may get involved in some of the actions the council take up. Such tasks are not onerous and probably an average of an hour or so a week is more than enough.

Am I eligible to be a Parish Councillor?

 

To stand for election on a parish council, you must:

•be a UK or commonwealth citizen, or;

•be a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or;

•be a citizen of another Member state of the European Union;

•be a least 18 years old.

 

To be eligible to stand for an election for a particular parish, you must:

•be an elector of the parish, or;

•for the whole of the previous 12 months have occupied (as owner or tenant) land or other premises in the parish, or;

•during the previous 12 months have worked in the parish (as your principal or only place of work), or;

•for the whole of the previous 12 months lived in the parish or within three miles of the parish boundary.

 

You don’t have to be connected to a political party.

 

If you do become a parish councillor you will have to sign up to the Code of Conduct.