Stokenchurch
Parish Council
The Parish Council
Parish Councillors
There are eleven parish councillors who stand for election every four years. For details of the present councillors click here.
Council Meetings
The council holds two meetings a month, usually on the first and third Wednesday. The meetings are held at Longburrow Hall and normally start at 7.30 p.m.
The public are encouraged to attend and to take part. They are always welcome. The chairman will normally invite the public attending to make comments at the end of the meeting. However, if there is a specific item on the agenda where members of the public wish to make comments, the clerk should be contacted (John Capell - 01494 482403, e-mail: clerk@stokenchurch.org.uk) and he will advise the chairman accordingly.
The agenda for the next parish council meeting is published on the Friday before the meeting.
Minutes
The Clerk to the Parish Council records what happens at the meeting and produces minutes, which are then approved by the council at the following meeting. Once the minutes are approved they are put on the parish notice boards and published on this website. This explains why there is a fortnight's delay before the minutes are published.
Format of Meetings
The format of meetings is prescribed and follows the order set out below:
- Acceptance of Apologies for Absence - Apologies from parish councillors who are unable to attend the meeting.
- Declarations of Interest (agenda items) - This provides the councillors present the opportunity to declare if they have a conflict of interest in any of the items that are on the agenda. Examples of this may be a financial interest (e.g. they work for a company tendering for a contract) or a personal interest (e.g. a planning application on the house next door).
- Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting - It is important that the minutes of all council meetings reflect an accurate record of what transpired. Draft minutes are put before the meeting for comment and confirmation.
- Matters Arising - Reports from councillors on matters arising from the previous minutes - e.g. follow up action that has been taken.
- Reports and Actions - Parish Councillors who have attended meetings or undertaken tasks on behalf of the parish council are given the opportunity to update on progress made.
- Notification of Other Parish Matters - Councillors may want to report on matters affecting the parish that they wish to discuss later on in the meeting. The nature of the matter to be reported on is noted for consideration after the rest of the agenda has been completed. (See other parish matters below.)
- Planning (see also the separate section on planning) - Although the parish council has no authority to approve or turn down planning applications, it has the opportunity to comment on any applications that have been submitted to Wycombe District Council. These are shown on the agenda as 'determine'. In addition, the clerk to the council will report back on any applications that have been considered by Wycombe District Council - these will either be 'permitted' or 'refused'. Very occasionally the details of an appeal to the Secretary of State will be reported.
- Finance - The consideration of financial matters affecting the council. This may be to give authority to the clerk to pay some bills or it might cover applications from charities or local organisations for funding.
- Correspondence - The clerk will report on any correspondence that has been received and of which the councillors should be aware.
- Other Agenda Items - These can cover anything that the council feels ought to be discussed. (At a recent meeting items included the Remembrance Day service at the war memorial, school travel plans, recreational facilities and an update on the village survey.) These will have been put on the agenda published on the Friday before the meeting.
- Other Parish Matters - These are the matters noted earlier in the meeting. Again the range of items is very wide ranging. At this stage the councillors can only report on the item raised, but if the chairman feels they need further consideration he can ask for them to be put as an agenda item for the next meeting.