About Yatton Parish Council
For the Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2011, click here.
Parish councils (sometimes called town councils in larger areas) are democratically elected local authorities (and are nothing to do with the church despite what goes on in The Vicar of Dibley) . They are the lowest tier of local authority in England. Next step up in this area is North Somerset Council. North Somerset Council looks after education, social services, highways and several other matters.
Although North Somerset Council is bigger and richer than Yatton Parish Council the Parish Council is independent of North Somerset Council and is in no way subordinate to or controlled by North Somerset Council. The Parish Council makes its own decisions (although they must be decisions permitted by law). Some parish and town councils operate a party political system, as does North Somerset Council. Yatton Parish Council, however, is not currently party political.
Yatton Parish Council serves both Yatton and Claverham.
Parish councils have certain powers that they can choose to exercise. Yatton Parish Council currently does the following:
- receives a copy of all planning applications and comments on many of them (you can view our comments on North Somerset Council's Planning Portal )
- maintains Glebelands (including the wildflower garden and the village green) and the Rock Road and Hangstones sports fields
- maintains Hangstones Pavilion
- maintains a number of children’s play areas in Yatton and Claverham (but not Horsecastle play area which is the responsibility of North Somerset Council) and the skatepark on Hangstones field
- maintains the Yatton Burial Ground (but not St Mary's churchyard which is the responsibility of North Somerset Council)
- maintains the allotments in Mendip Road
- maintains the War Memorial gardens in Rock Road
- owns (jointly with Congresbury Parish Council) the top of Cadbury Hill including the Iron Age camp
- operates some (but not all) street lights
- provides and empties dog bins and a few litter bins in Yatton and Claverham
- organises the Christmas lights
- pays for a youth worker in the parish, and pays part of the costs of staff at Yatton Youth Club
- makes grants to organisations working for the benefit of the community in Yatton and Claverham
- funds a weekly Citizens Advice Bureau session in Yatton Library
- monitors public rights of way in the area
- comments generally on matters of concern in Yatton and Claverham such as road safety
- works with neighbouring parish councils on matters of common interest such as airport expansion
Yatton Parish Council has been awarded Quality status. Quality status is awarded by an independent body to mark out those parish and town councils which have a democratic mandate, have qualified staff, meet regularly, follow proper procedures, communicate effectively and engage actively with their local community. The Council was recently re-accredited as a Quality council for a further four years, until 2015.
Parish councillors are elected at the same time, and in the same way, as North Somerset councillors. The last elections were in May 2011 and the next will be in May 2015. There are 18 seats on Yatton Parish Council; 16 were filled at the May 2011 elections and the Council co-opted two residents to fill the remaining vacancies. Parish councillors are unpaid and receive no allowance, although travelling and subsistence expenses are reimbursed and the Chairman can claim a small allowance for his expenses as Chairman. Contact details for all councillors are here and you can see the scheme for travelling and subsistence allowances here.
The Parish Council currently meets about every other month, normally in the evening. There are also committees of the Parish Council to handle the detail, and one committee in particular which comments on planning applications. They meet when convenient to members. There is a calendar of meetings for 2011/12 here. All Council and committee meetings are open to the public, although the public may be asked to leave when confidential business such as appointment of staff is being discussed. There is a short period near the beginning of every Council and committee meeting where members of the public can make statements or ask questions.
The Parish Council elects its own Chairman, currently David Crossman, and a Vice-Chairman, currently Trevor Bidwell-Ford. Committees also elect a chairman and vice-chairman.
The Council has a small number of employees, headed by the Clerk, Crispin Taylor. Crispin holds the Certificate in Local Council Administration, the recognised qualification for local council clerks, and is an Associate of the Institute of Local Council Management. Crispin is assisted in the Parish Office by two part-time administrative staff, Wendy Bentley and Aleana Baird. The sports fields and other properties are maintained by two part-time grounds staff, Pete Moorman and Craig Pearson, one of whom helps to keep the streets clean in Yatton, and there is a part-time village orderly to help keep the streets clean in Claverham.
The Parish Office, in Yatton Library, is open to the public between 10.30 and 1.30 on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Fridays a colleague from North Somerset Council's Streets & Open Spaces service is usually available in the Parish Office.
The Parish Council's expenses are met by council tax payers in Yatton & Claverham. Your council tax bill includes an amount (called a 'precept') to meet the Parish Council's expenses. Unlike North Somerset Council parish councils receive no grant from central government. Details of how we have spent council tax payers' money are always available from the Clerk, and all payments over £500 are listed on our website.
Crispin Taylor AILCM, Clerk to Yatton Parish Council