What is a Parish Council and why become a parish councillor?

 

Did you know that there are three tiers of local government? The Parish Council, Swale Borough Council (SBC) and Kent County Council (KCC). People often refer to the council, but it is not clear which council they are referring to.

The Parish Council (PC) is the first tier of local government and the closest to the community, with SBC and KCC above it in the hierarchy. As it is the authority closest to the people, the Parish Council is invariably the first-place people will go with concerns or ideas. For this reason, they are a vital part of the community.

For more information on what each tier does please visit: Understand how your council works: Types of council - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Unlike Borough and County Councillors who claim allowances (details of which can be found on Swale and County’s websites) members of the Parish Council are unpaid residents, elected by the local people. Elections are every four years: Local volunteers, however, may be co-opted when there are not enough candidates for seats at an election or when the electorate does not call for an election after a seat has fallen vacant. There are 11 seats on the Iwade Parish Council, and currently there are 9 councillors with two vacancies.

The Parish Council meet on the second Wednesday of each month (except for August). Did you know that you do not have to be a councillor to attend this monthly council meeting? All residents are welcome to attend and can raise any matters they think the council should deal with. There is a standing agenda item for this purpose called “residents public time” should you wish to use it. You are also welcome to just come along and observe the proceedings.

The Parish Council’s work falls into three main categories: representing the local community, delivering services to meet local needs, striving to improve quality of life in the parish.

At the monthly meeting, the councillors will make decisions on what services can be delivered, what activities to support, where money should be spent and what policies should be implemented. The extent of what the Parish Council can act on is governed by their statutory powers and duties and any budget constraints. The decisions made are recorded in the meeting minutes and published for the public to view.

The Parish Council are not there to organise and run events, but they will support residents who volunteer to do so and will provide help where appropriate. That said the PC organises the annual Christmas Lights switch on; the event is entirely run by the councillors.

The Parish Council lobby the other authorities, and service providers with local issues. They have been in regular contact with Southern Water and Kent Highways for the current issues the village faces.

Did you now that the Parish Council can provide grants to local organisations and clubs to ensure they are able to remain sustainable? There is a limited annual budget which organisations and clubs can apply for in November for payment in the following fiscal year.

The ownership of public spaces in Iwade is quite confusing as some land is owned by the parish, some by SBC, and some by KCC. To add to this, for many of the new developments the upkeep and maintenance is the responsibility of a management company. The residents of these housing developments pay a yearly fee to the management company for this service. Nevertheless, many residents will report a maintenance problem to the Parish Clerk to get resolved. So, the first thing the Clerk must do is establish who has responsibility for the upkeep of the space in question. A recent example of this was the brick wall in the village square which was pushed over. It was FirstPort’s responsibility to repair the wall, but it took many months of the Parish Council chasing them before this was done.

Your Parish Council is a group of residents just like you, they freely give up their time to collectively make decisions for the good of the community. If you do not agree with some of the decisions, the best way to have your view recognised is by attending a meeting or by contacting the Clerk, they will be happy to explain why a decision was made.

There are currently two vacancies, so if you care about your community and would like to become a council member, please email your interest to clerk@iwade-pc.gov.uk.