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The Parish Council

Parish councils are the first tier of local government in England and Wales and are closest to the people. They serve the smallest area and are responsible for the most local of matters. In England they are called parish councils or town councils if they cover a largely urban area. They are elected units of local government whose activities are controlled by Acts of Parliament.

Parish, town and community councils have a number of basic responsibilities, including: representing the whole electorate within the parish; delivering services to meet local needs; and striving to improve quality of life in the parish. They can be responsible for providing a range of community services e.g. local transport and traffic, rights of way, recreation grounds and facilities, planning, seating and shelters, allotments and many others. Many county and district councils and unitary authorities are also responsible for providing and maintaining some of these services. Residents, however, may prefer to contact their parish council in regards to such local matters because of their smaller, less intimidating size and because they may be more in touch with their community’s needs. The parish council must be notified of any planning application or highway development planned for the area if they so wish. On some occasions the council’s approval is also needed for any work to go ahead.

Parish councillors are elected by the public and serve four-year terms. Following elections, councils appoint a chair, or town mayor in town councils. To be a parish councillor requires time and commitment. A councillor will usually spend a couple of hours a week on parish business.

Parish councillors were unpaid positions until 2004 when allowance schemes were introduced to encourage more people to stand. Allowances are still, however, at the discretion of the individual councils. Playford parish councilors are all unpaid.

Council Meetings

Parish council meetings are held bi-monthly in January, March, May, July, September and November, usually on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7 pm in Playford Village Hall. All meetings are open to the public. At the beginning of each meeting an open forum is held where members of the public can put their questions to the council.

Code of Conduct and other documents

A copy of the local code of conduct for councillors is available here. You can also download the financial regulations and standing orders. Also the Data Protection Policy, the Privacy Policy and the Safeguarding Policy.

The complaints procedure can also be downloaded.

Register of interests

The councillors' register of interests is available on the East Suffolk council website.

Planning Procedure

The Parish Council's planning procedure is here.

Risk assessments

The Parish Council's Risk Assessment is here and its Financial Risk Assessment here.

Parish Council Transparency

Parish councils are required to publish the following documents:

  1. A list of payments of items over £100
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
  2. End of year accounts
    2015 cashbook summary and annual return
    2016
    2017 and audit page and audit conclusion
    2018 Annual Governance and Accountability Return and Bank Reconciliation
    2019 Internal Audit report, Exemption Certificate, Annual Governance & Accountability Statement, Accounting Statement and Bank Reconciliation
    2020 Exemption Certificate, Internal audit report, Annual Goverance and Accounting Statements, Explanation of Variances and Bank Reconciliation
    Bank reconciliation as of 31.3.23
    Certificate of Exemption 2023
    Signed 2020 Cashbook Summary
    Signed 2021 Cashbook Summary
    Signed 2022 Cashbook Summary
    Signed 2023 Cashbook Summary
    Signed 2021 AGAR
    Signed 2022 AGAR
    Signed 2023 AGAR
  3. Explanation of variances between this year and previous year
    2015
    2017-18
    2018-19
    2020-21
    2021-22
    2022-23
  4. List of Councillors and their responsibilities
  5. Details of public land owned: Playford Parish Council owns the Playing Field as outlined in red on the 1940 map. The Parish Hall rents the area outlined in pink shown on the 2006 map for use as Children's Play Area for a peppercorn rent of £1 per year.
  6. Dates of Exercise of public rights 2020
    Exercise of Public Rights 2021
    Exercise of public rights 2022
    Exercise of public rights 2023

The accounts for 2022-23 will be audited by PKF Littlejohn, 1 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4HD.

Dates of 2024 Parish Council Meetings

Weds 10th January
Weds 6th March
Weds 8th May - APM (starts 6.30pm) & APCM
Weds 3rd July
Weds 4th September
Weds 6th November

All start at 7:00 pm except where indicated

Previous Meetings

Read the Parish Council Minutes and Agendas

Meet your councillors

Joan Metcalfe

Steve Hicks

Marian Hedgley (clerk)


Contact details for the councillors are on the contacts page.

Accessibility

Parish Council documents are required to be accessible to the whole community. How our web site complies, and to use accessibility features is explained on our Accessibility Statement.