What is the Group Parish Council and what does it do?
Ewyas Harold Group Parish Council (GPC) is a non-political, elected body of thirteen councillors representing the parishes of Ewyas Harold, Rowlstone, Dulas, and Llancillo. We form the third tier of Local Government. No Councillor has the right to act individually; the authority of the GPC comes from the body as a whole. A Parish Council has the same status as a Town Council, and both are sometimes known as “Local Councils”.
The organisational structure of the Parish Council is as follows:
- The role of Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer are combined into one paid employee position.
- The Councillors are elected or co-opted members and are the decision makers of the organisation. Individuals may hold further roles within committees and working groups and can be found on the members page. The Chair is responsible for chairing the meetings with the Vice-Chair available to step in should the Chair be absent.
- The Parish Council may appoint volunteers to roles to assist with tasks within the Parishes – such as Parish Footpath Officer and Tree Warden
- The Parish Council may appoint contractors to undertake some tasks – such as the Parish Lengthsman – highways and footpath maintenance; recreation ground mowing; litter clearing and bin emptying; toilet cleaning; play area and gym equipment checks; legionella checks and MUGA maintenance.
All land and assets owned by the Group Parish Council can be found on the Asset Register on the Financial pages
The GPC welcomes new blood! If you would like to help the community by becoming a Councillor please contact the Clerk. You will be given a warm welcome at any of our meetings – the second Tuesday of the month – and this is the best place to find out more about what it means to be a Councillor. It’s a responsible position, but immensely rewarding. If you want to “make a difference” locally, this is the place to start.
What a councillor does
As councillors, we represent the residents and electors of the parish. We meet in public once a month and our decisions are made public in Minutes which can be found on this website or by contacting the clerk..
Your local Councillors are individually available to anyone in the parish for consultation on any matter of local concern. It is our duty to strive to represent not ourselves, but the public interest. A Code of Conduct applies to all councillors. When we take office we declare any interests we may have in local businesses or property. A Register of Interests is kept on file by Herefordshire Council and it is available for public inspection.
Meetings
The public and press is welcome to attend our monthly meeting, which is generally held on the second Tuesday of the month at 7pm in The Pavilion at Ewyas Harold Recreation Ground. The agenda and confirmation of the meeting and venue can be found on the village notice board as well as on this website. Members of the public may speak under the open forum item at this meeting.
The Clerk
The Clerk is the Proper Officer of the Council in law and has a number of specific duties and responsibilities. His/her job includes executing the resolutions of the Council and advising on points of law and procedure. If you wish to draw the whole GPC’s attention to any matter please write to the clerk. In this Parish Council, the Clerk also undertakes the role of Responsible Financial Officer.
The Precept
We raise the funds to carry out our duties by means of a local tax called the Precept. This is a relatively small sum which is collected by Herefordshire Council at the same time as your Council Taxes. The GPC strives to keep the Precept as low as possible in line with the needs of the community.
This website
On this website we will publish our agenda and minutes which will tell you what we have done and what we plan to do.