Winsham Parish Council comprises of nine councilors who serve a four year term. Usually meetings are held monthly on the first Wednesday of each month, together with an Annual Meeting at which the Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected.
The dates of meetings for the coming year are shown on the Minutes & Agendas page. Agendas are posted on the notice board outside the Jubilee Hall and on the website at least three days before each meeting and the venue is the Jubilee Hall, Winsham.
The public are invited and welcome to attend the meetings. There is a period set aside before the formal start of the meeting for members of the public to raise any concerns or ask questions. Similarly, time is set aside before the meeting starts for County and District Councilors to address the meeting.
The council also has the power to raise money through taxation, the precept. The precept is the Parish Council’s share of the council tax. The precept demand goes to the billing authority, South Somerset District Council, which collects the tax for the Parish Council.
Winsham Parish Council make all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the local community. Probably the most common topics that Parish Councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), crime prevention, managing open spaces and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities.
It’s true to say that on their own, the Parish Council has limited powers to make decisions but they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organizations that do make the final decisions such as other tiers of local government, health authorities, police etc. Please click here to see a List of Parish Council Powers.
What Winsham Parish Council does:
- Looks after the interests of the community and its inhabitants
- Acts as a consultee for planning applications within the parish
- Contracts the grass cutting within the Parish, other than areas owned by Housing Associations.
- Manages and maintains one play area.
- Maintains the Liberty Trail in partnership with Somerset County Council.
- Provides Grit Bins.
- Manages Winsham Cemetery.
- Manages and maintains the Allotments and Winsham Community Resource Centre (WCRC).
Winsham has a Parish Plan. Please click here to view.