What do we do?
A parish council is a civil local authority found in England and is the lowest, or first, tier of local government.
Parish Council activities generally fall into three main categories:
- To represent the community to all the relevant authorities e.g. Kent County Council & Swale Borough Council on planning, highways matters etc.
- To provide delegated services and management of parish assets e.g. upkeep of Bull Lane recreation ground and the Civic Cemetery
- To improve quality of life and community well being.
The Parish Council meets and makes its decisions in public (except for those items where the Council formally resolves to exclude the public and press on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest. This would have to be due to the confidential nature of the business. This latter also applies to any sub-committee of the Parish Council) and is committed to community engagement and therefore warmly invites members of the public and press to attend meetings and contribute within the open forum.
A council meeting is not a public meeting. It is a meeting held in public to conduct council business and interruptions during council business are not permitted. There is no requirement in law to provide an opportunity for the public to question the council, however this council welcomes the opportunity to offer it at the start of a meeting before regular business commences.
Speaking at a Meeting – The agenda for each Parish Council meeting includes a ‘Public Participation’ item where any member of the public may ask a question related to the agenda or any topic within the remit of the parish council. Members of the public may not speak at other times in the meeting unless invited to do so by the Chairman.
