Parish Council

The role of Hepworth Parish Council

The role of the Parish Council is to act on behalf of the parish and represent the interests of the whole community. It can provide a wide range of services using its legal powers, from community centres to festivals, and allotments to bus services.The Parish Council:-

• give views, on behalf of the parish in relation to planning applications and other proposals that affect the parish

• undertakes work and projects that will benefit the parish; this includes the maintenance & management of assets such as the village sign, street furniture and bus stops and also the employment of someone to keep areas in the village tidy

• makes small grants to village organisations

• works in partnership with other organisations to achieve benefits for the parish

• informs other organisations of problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken

• helps the other levels of local government keep in touch with the local community

Planning

The Parish Council is a statutory consultee for all planning applications in Hepworth, although decisions to grant or refuse an application are made by West Suffolk District Council, who send the details of all applications to the Parish Council and invites the council to make comments. Planning applications are discussed at meetings of the Parish Council, where copies of the applications and related maps and plans are available to view.  Details of the applications to be considered will be included within the agenda for each Parish Council meeting. Anyone can object to, or support, planning applications, and details of applications can be viewed online at West Suffolk Council .

Precept

The Precept is the Parish Council’s share of the council tax, and is used to help improve life for the local community in many ways. Each year the Parish Council is obliged to assess how much money is required to effectively administer the parish. This is done through a budget process where receipts and payments are considered for the forthcoming year. The Parish Council then notifies West Suffolk Council of the amount of money required, which is sent to the Parish Council in two equal amounts in April and September each year.

Meetings

Hepworth Parish Council meets on the third Thursday of every month except August and December. Meetings are attended by, or receive reports from, our Suffolk County Council councillor, our West Suffolk Council councillor and when possible the Police. Members of the public are always welcome to attend meetings. The dates and times of each meeting will be advertised on the events page here and also on the Parish Council notice board at the entrance to Wood Lane.

If you require any further information please contact the Parish Clerk – Andy Osman – at hepworthpc@outlook.com

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