Fillongley Parish Council Responsibilities
At the grass roots level of central and local government is “Tier 1” government of town and parish councils, of which Fillongley Parish is one.
They provide and/or maintain:
- War Memorial
- Church Lane Playing Fields,
- Cemetery, Nuneaton Road
- Wood Yard Car Park
- Allotments
Parish Councillors may also be
- Trustees of Fillongley Village Hall
- Trustees of local charities.
Parish councils were established by the Local Government Act 1894, but most of their legal powers were abolished by the 1972 Local Government Act.
A parish council acts as the voice of its local community, passing parishioners’ opinions and views on to higher levels of government and other bodies. Its powers are defined and granted by acts of Parliament. The Parish Council are consulted by predominantly NWBC regarding local issues, particularly planning, and whilst the views of the Parish Council are noted, NWBC follows its own obligations when making decisions.
Fillongley Parish Council is composed of seven Councillors; one having been elected by the others as Chairperson. The roles of Parish Councillor is voluntary and carries no financial benefit. The administrative role is provided by the Clerk.
The Clerk to the Parish Council is responsible for the administration of meetings, for ensuring the Council meet their legal obligations, and ensuring proper accounting of finances and financial procedures. The Clerk to the Council is currently Mrs Heather Badham who has been in post since 2007.
Thanks to funding from WCC Cllr Colin Hayfield, Fillongley Parish Council now also employ a Lengthsman for 10 hours per week. Lance Judge-Porter looks after the cleanliness of the highways and by-ways and reports initially to the Clerk, but ultimately to the Council.
The Councillors are also Trustee of the Fillongley Village Hall. As such they employ Mrs Jayne Moore to administer the bookings of the Village Hall. The Trustees are thankful to the voluntary services of the Fillongley Village Hall Management Committee who fundraise for “extras” for the hall and plan events for us all to enjoy.
The Parish Council now has a legal obligation to provide information on what information is available from where at what cost. To this end, the PC has adopted a model publication scheme – Click Here to see the details.