So what exactly is the St Margaret’s at Cliffe Parish Council involved in?
Is it easier to cover the items we don’t have control over first
Highways – Potholes, Repairs, Road Closures, Speed Limits. Managed by Kent Highways, we can, as any other member of the public can, report issues on a day to day basis. On a more strategic level we do maintain a Highways Improvement Plan which we discuss with Kent Highways each year and try to influence their strategy within the village based on our local knowledge.
Planning – Managed by Dover District Council Planning Department, we are a public consultee on all planning matters within the parish. Where consultation is required DDC Planning will send a notification to the Parish Council and we have 21 days to review and respond with our comments. We undertake this review as part of our public meeting once a month in the Village Hall.
Parking Charges – Dover District Council are responsible for setting parking charges throughout the village, as you know we do our best to influence their actions and keep you updated when we are aware of any planned changes so you can ensure your voices are heard LOUD and CLEAR.
Streetlights – the majority of these around the village are maintained by DDC.
Public Rights of Way – Managed by KCC PROW team. However, there is an annual walk hosted by the Parish Council to walk the footpaths to check for issues which we then report to KCC PROW.
Items we are custodians of on behalf of the parish:
The South Foreland Valley – The largest Village Green in the UK
The Madge Memorial Field
The King George V Field including the Pavilion, Tennis Courts and Playground
The Kingsdown Road Pavilion (Bowls Club)
The Alexander Field & Pavilion
The 5 Bus Shelters in the village
The Village Ponds in Chapel Lane and Reach Road
The St Margaret’s Civic Cemetery and The Dare Garden of Remembrance
We are also responsible for the upkeep of:
The Reach Road / Village Car Park Public Conveniences
The memorial benches throughout the village and the SFV
Numerous hedgerows (but not all) alongside the Highway – at some point we will produce a map as we know this is very confusing for everyone involved
We strive to foster community spirit and engagement by maintaining shared spaces and organising events like the Christmas Lights Switch-On. We also host commemorative events celebrating our village’s rich history, including the Platinum Jubilee, D-Day commemorations, and the upcoming VE Day events.
What are the origins of Local Councils?
Most local councils were set up in 1894 by an Act of Parliament. Civil parish councils (local councils) were created by separating them from the Church, which had had a long history of delivering local services such as care for the poor, maintenance of roads and tax collection.
What is a local Council?
A local council is a corporate body: a legal entity separate from its members. It is a collective decision-making body; its decisions are the responsibility of the whole of the council. All the councillors have equal rights and responsibilities, even the chair or councillors who also sit on a principal authority are no more important than any other member. This means councillors do not have any authority as individuals. In short, no councillor can act alone or speak on behalf of the council without first being formally granted the authority to do so by that council. It is also important to understand that local councils are autonomous and not answerable to a higher authority. They have been granted their own powers by Parliament, including the important authority to raise money through taxation (the precept) and a range of powers to spend public money.
Regardless of their size and level of activity, all local councils must perform all their statutory duties set out in law. The legal framework is quite strict, but it is not too onerous. It is important for all councillors to understand although this legal framework might be frustrating and sometimes slows down a local council’s ability to function, especially in this fast-paced modern world, acting in accordance with it is a legal requirement when dealing with public finances on behalf of your local community and being part of the democratic process.
What is the Precept?
In order to function and, especially, to supply more services to the community, the local council imposes its own tax on its residents. This is called the precept. The precept demand goes to the billing authority (in our case Dover District Council) which collects this tax on behalf of the local council as part of its own council tax.
How do you manage the precept?
The rules for dealing with local council finance are set by the Government and are designed to make sure that the council takes no unacceptable risks with public money.
The council shares collective responsibility for the fiscal management of public money; because of this, it must ensure that an officer known, in law, as the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) reports all financial activity as transparently as possible on a regular basis to the council, to avoid the risk of loss, fraud or bad debt, whether through deliberate or careless actions. Robust financial checks and oversight are of immense importance.
Although it is technically a separate role, in smaller councils it is not unusual for the clerk to also undertake the RFO role, as is the case in St Margaret’s.
How do we operate?
As a corporate body, a local council has a legal existence separate from that of its members. It can own land, enter into contracts and be subject to court proceedings. It is the local council that is responsible for its actions as a corporate body. Therefore, decisions can only be made in face-to-face meetings that have been properly summoned.
Councils can undertake an activity only when specific legislation allows it. Acting without legal power is an unnecessary risk which could lead to financial and legal difficulties.
The rules that apply to the council as a whole.
There are surprisingly very few duties, or activities, that a local council must carry out in law to deliver services to local people. A local council must:
comply with its obligations under: the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Data Protection Act 1998 the Equality Act 2010
publish certain information such as annual accounts, notice of meetings, agendas, and meeting notes
comply with the relevant Local Government Transparency Code
comply with employment law
consider the impact of their decisions on reducing crime and disorder in their area
consider the protection of biodiversity in carrying out their function
consider the provision of allotments if there is demand from residents and it is reasonable to do so
decide whether to adopt a churchyard when it is closed, if asked to do so by the Parochial Church Council