What is the Parish Council?
It is the lowest tier of local government. The Council consists of 13 voluntary Councillors who are elected for a four year term of office to serve and administer for the needs of the resident of Sherston. In the event of a vacancy arising a new member is either elected or co-opted until the next election. The Parish councillors determine and set policy to cater for the social, cultural, welfare and environmental needs of Sherston residents and employ a part time Clerk to the Council to implement policy decisions.
All Councillors adhere to the Parish Council Code of Conduct and complete a Register of Interests. The Council has Committees to concentrate on particular aspects of its work. The Committees and its members are listed below. It should be noted that where necessary Council co –opts non Councillors onto particular Committees. This has proved particularly beneficial in the past bringing the talents of local residents to bear on specific issues. A present example of this approach is to be found in the make up of the Old School Committee.
What does the Parish Council do?
Whilst the Council has little in the way of direct power it has a reasonable amount of influence and is consulted by the unitary authority Wiltshire Council and national government on a wide range of issues. A good example of this is in relation to planning where the responsible authority is Wiltshire Council. All details of every planning application within the Parish are given to the Parish Council for review and comments are taken into account when decisions are reached.
Another example is highways where Wiltshire Council is the Highway Authority but which consults with the parish over any road scheme or traffic calming measure.
The Parish council is directly responsible for providing the following services to the Village –
- The Pennymead recreation area including all the play equipment
- The Sportsfield including the Skateboard Park and Football pavilion. ( The Tennis Courts are privately run by Sherston Tennis Club on land leased from the Council )
- Allotments at Knockdown Road ( Contact the clerk if you wish to join the waiting list )
- The High Street Bus shelter as well as public seats around the Village
- Comment on all planning applications
- Promotion of Village projects e.g. Grove Community Wood and the Old School
- Support of Parish organisations through Grants
- Monitoring of Public Rights of Way
How is the Parish Council paid for?
Every year the Council sets its budget and the amount it requires to operate that budget is known as the Parish Precept. This amount is collected by Wiltshire Council from the Council Tax paid by residents of the parish.
Audited accounts are produced each year and as part of the audit system the accounts are available for public inspection. Details of the inspection system are posted at the appropriate time both on this site and the Parish council’s notice board outside the Old School on the High Street.
Click here to view the latest available audited accounts
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to your computer
> Accounts 2007/8
> Accounts 2006/7
When and where does the Council meet?
Meetings are usually on the 2nd Thursday of every month (except August when there is no meeting) and are held in Sherston Village Hall at 7.30 pm. They usually last for an hour and a half.
For all the 2009 meeting dates click here
The meetings are open to the public and there are opportunities to raise questions and issues both at the beginning and end of every meeting. During the meeting itself it is only with the invitation of the Chairman and the approval of the Council that a member of the public can participate in any debate. In practice this participation is generally welcomed so as to give Council the widest insight into issues before it.
Freedom of Information Act
All documents related to the Parish Council, including minutes and agendas, procedures, contracts and financial audit information are available from the Parish Clerk.
Who are the Councillors?
Click here to view the councilor list.
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Planning Subcommittee
Terms of Reference |
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Available in PDF or Word formats
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the PDF or Word file to your computer |
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