Welcome message from the Chairman
Welcome to Appleby Parish Council website. The Parish includes Santon, Clappgate and the Station area. As well providing useful local information the website provides the transparency required for residents to follow the Councils workings and financial affairs.
A parish council is the smallest and most localised tier of local government in the United Kingdom and is a properly-constituted local authority.
Parish Councils provide a focus for local activity in their communities, encouraging local people to make their views known, particularly on issues about maintaining and improving the character of the local area. A key role, then, of Parish Councils is to express those views to other public bodies, such as North Lincolnshire Council, particularly on planning applications and other environmental or `quality of life` concerns.
Appleby Parish Council has eight Parish Councillors who will serve until 2023. The Parish Council aims to help residents and be a point-of-contact for ideas and suggestions for improvements to the village. The work of the eight members of the Council is voluntary, and they give their time freely to help enhance the village for the benefit of all residents.
The Localism Act 2011 requires parish councillors to publicly declare if they have any certain financial (i.e. pecuniary) and any other (i.e. non-pecuniary) interests. These declarations are logged in a “Register of Interests” which is stored by North Lincolnshire Council. The declarations are public documents and all members of the Council are required to complete the forms. This being an important part of the transparency of Local Government.
The Parish Council also has legal responsibilities as an employer, and the Clerk acts as the Responsible Person and Financial Officer, and advises the Parish Council on lawful decision-making and implementation.
The powers and duties, and the manner in which a parish council operates, is laid out in Local Government statute and regulations. To comply with these regulations the council collectively conducts its business in accordance with a document agreed by the council from time-to-time known as Standing Orders. Individually, members must also conduct themselves in accordance with an agreed Code of Conduct.
Usually our meetings are held monthly together with an Annual Meeting of the Parish Council at which the Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected which is in May.
The dates of meetings are shown on the Agendas and Minutes page. Agendas are posted on the notice boards around the Parish and on the website at least three days before each meeting and the venue is the Village Hall in Appleby village.
The public are invited and welcome to attend the meetings. There is a period set aside during the meeting for members of the public to raise any concerns or ask questions.
The Council also has the power to raise money through taxation, or precept. The precept demand goes to the billing authority, North Lincolnshire County Council, which collects the tax for the Parish Council.
Appleby Parish Council makes decisions on issues that affect the local community, probably the most common topics being involved with are planning matters, managing open spaces including the children’s playground, maintaining the Parish planters, more recently maintaining verges, and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities. Parish Council also supports the Village Hall by way of grants and payments.
It’s true to say that on their own, the Parish Council has limited powers to make decisions but they do have the ability to negotiate with, and work to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions such as other tiers of local government, health authorities, police etc.
The Council have been successful in completing a Neighbourhood Plan, the first in North Lincolnshire, which will help Council to do the best they can for our residents, and to maintain a sustainable community. Details of the Plan can be seen on the Neighbourhood Planning page of this website.