Parish Council

                     

Parish Profile

The primary function of the Parish Council is to represent the interests of residents of Pen Selwood in dealings with Somerset County Council and South Somerset District Council. Because of the village’s location, the Parish Council also deals with neighbouring County and District Councils in Dorset and Wiltshire. Issues with which the Parish Council is concerned include planning applications, maintenance of the roads, bridleways and footpaths within the parish, and support of village amenities such as the Community Field.

For Planning Applications click on the sub-tab below PARISH COUNCIL.

The Parish Council welcomes public participation in its meetings, which are open to all the residents of Pen Selwood. There is an opportunity for raising issues at the start of the meeting, and where items on the agenda are known to be of particular interest, it has been the practice of the Chairman to invite contributions from the floor before the issue is debated by the Parish Council. 

The agenda for each meeting is posted on all village notice boards a week before each meeting. Minutes of meetings are posted on the Village Hall Notice Board within two weeks of each meeting. 

Alternatively click here for Agendas or Minutes.

Meetings are usually held on the second Wednesday of each month in Penselwood Village Hall at 7.30pm apart from the May meeting when the Annual Parish Meeting precedes the Parish Council meeting at 7pm. Dates of the meetings for the financial year 2023/24 are: May 10th,    July 12th, September 13th, November 8th, January 10th 2024, March 13th 2024.

Membership

Elections for the Parish Council take place every four years. With a few exceptions, residents over 18 are eligible to stand for the Parish Council. The council is supported by a part-time clerk, who is a paid official, not a member. The current members and clerk of the Parish Council are listed here http://penselwood.ning.com/page/councillors-1

Parish Council Privacy Statement  Click to open

Priorities

Revised January 2016

1. ​To preserve the tranquil, rural character of Pen Selwood as part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

2. ​To support the active community life of Pen Selwood

3. ​To foster effective communication between the Parish Council and the residents of Pen Selwood

4.​To promote the wellbeing of the residents of Pen Selwood

In support of these priorities:

a.​Planning Policy: We will maintain and implement the Parish Planning Policy (latest version July 2015) in accordance with the SSDC core strategy for planning in rural settlements. While respecting the rights of individuals to enjoy their own homes, we will resist any planning application which would be detrimental to the character of the village or to the well-being of its residents.

b.​Planning Procedure: We will use notice boards and the village website to notify residents of all current planning applications affecting the village. We will meet in public to consider such applications except that non-contentious applications with negligible impact on the village will be dealt with by correspondence between councillors.

c.​Community Activities: We will support, financially or by such other means as may be appropriate, facilities and activities which foster a strong community, specifically the community field, the village hall, the churchyard, the footpath volunteers and the Pen Paper. We will consider requests for support for other activities in relation to need and the contribution they make to community life.

d.​Roads and Footpaths: We will monitor the condition of the roads, verges, passing places, bridleways and footpaths in the parish and draw any problems promptly to the attention of the County or District Council as appropriate.

e.​Communication: To promote awareness of Parish Council and village activities we will maintain notice boards and a village website. We will highlight in advance issues coming before the Parish Council which are likely to be of particular interest. We will post draft minutes of Parish Council minutes on the website and notice boards within 2 weeks of each meeting.

f. Health & Safety Policy

PSHealth & Safety Policy

g. Code of Conduct

  PS Code of Conduct June 2023

The Parish Council would welcome any comments on these priorities.

© 2024   Created by geoff parcell.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service