What is a Parish Council?
It's nothing to do with Churches!
Think of it more as a community or neighbourhood council (it may even be renamed to this in the future), an elected tier of local government that has powers to act on local issues – community safety, street maintenance, lighting, community centres, litter, allotment provision, to name a few. There are over 8000 Parish Councils in England alone.
The population of Shenley Church End Parish is approx. 11000, living in around 4000 homes but, as the MK Western Expansion area develops, this is expected to rise to around 13,000 residents by 2011.
How to become a Councillor
You need to be over age 18, live or work within 3 miles of the parish (Crownhill, Grange Farm, Medbourne, Oakhill, Oxley Park and Shenley Church End) and have an interest in your community. Just come along to one of the Parish Council meetings to see what it's like or contact the Parish Clerk.
What would I do?
You would consider the issues affecting the community, make recommendations and take decisions that benefit the community. There are certain controls around this – you need to be willing to attend and contribute to meetings, some of these can be tedious but nevertheless interesting, and you need to be willing to talk to people and find out what their concerns and issues are in their community.
Interested?
Contact the Parish Clerk for an informal chat, no obligation -
