Your Parish Council
The Parish Council meets at 7:00 pm in Stedham Memorial Hall on the second Thursday of each month excluding August.
The Council’s Annual Meeting is generally held in May and during this meeting the Chair and Vice-Chair are elected to serve for the forthcoming year. The Responsible Finance Officer, Internal Auditor and representatives to other local organisations are also appointed. In addition, Council policies and agreements are reviewed and either approved or amended as appropriate.
There is also an Annual Parish Meeting which is a statutory meeting and must take place between March and June each year. The meeting allows local electors to discuss parish affairs and matters of local concern, consider any public issue of a parochial nature and, where appropriate, pass resolutions on the public activities or policies of the Parish.
A Parish or Annual Parish Meeting is not a council meeting; it is a meeting of local electors. Although it is usually organised by the Parish Council, this is a matter of convention rather than a legal requirement. Electors themselves may organise the meeting, and a Parish Meeting can be called at any point during the year by 6 electors.
Parish Council Meetings – Agendas, Minutes and Conduct
All Parish Council meetings are open to the public.
Each meeting must have an Agenda which is prepared by the clerk and must be published at least three clear days before the meeting. It is unlawful for a council to decide on an issue, especially a decision to spend money, without the required notice period. Agendas are posted on the three Notice Boards, 2 in Stedham and 1 in Iping, and on the Parish Council’s website. Every agenda will include time for public participation when members of the public can raise issues and ask questions.
The clerk is responsible for writing the draft minutes of the meeting and publishing them on the Council website no more than one month after the meeting. Minutes will be a summary of the proceedings and record of the resolutions of the council, not a verbatim report.
Copies of the minutes can be obtained from the Clerk, or from the Council Documents/Minutes & Agendas on this website.
Local Government Law: Unlike ordinary English Law, whereas an individual can do anything unless prohibited by law, a council can only do that which is authorised by law.
Parish Meetings – Agendas, Minutes and Conduct
In our parish the Annual Parish Meeting is organised by the Chair of the Parish Council and Clerk on behalf of the registered local government electors of the parish, who are all entitled to speak and vote. Local government electors can also suggest items for the agenda and raise any matters of concern, although it is helpful to let the Clerk know about them beforehand if possible. The Parish Council Chair or Vice-Chair presides at the meeting.
Non-electors of the parish i.e. members of the public (including the press) may be present at the parish meeting, but have no right to take part in the business of the meeting.
Agendas and Minutes can be found at Council Documents/Minutes & Agendas