History of Penkridge Parish Council

I need someone to write a short piece for this page.  (not Robert Maddocks as he is doing the main Village History page).    Perhaps one of the "older" Councillors?  or anyone else?   In the meantime, the following was put together to give to a small Japanese Delegation of Academics who visited Penkridge in September 2001 and wanted to know more about Council  history and how they run.  

History of Penkridge Parish Council

The Parish Council began its first full year of work in 1895.  Before it addressed the serious business of the health and safety of the people of Penkridge it had to tidy up some of the loose ends of three hundred years of less organised local government.

 Having dealt with the past, the Council looked to the future.   They inherited the dilemma of how best to balance the welfare of the people against the financial worries of the ratepayers.  An added difficulty was that it was not entirely clear who was responsible for dealing with the major problems: the Parish, the District or the County Council.  The Parish Council often found itself the centre of a bureaucratic tangle, receiving complaints from the villagers and putting pressure on the District and County for action.  Complaints were being received on the inadequacy of the sewers.   There was much sickness in the parish and this was thought to be caused by the lack of a regular supply of water and the lack of any organised disposing of sewage.  Poverty, ignorance and a poor water supply was a dangerous combination.

 Sitting on the Parish Council was clearly going to be a difficult and not very rewarding occupation.  To boost their morale the Council accepted from a Mr. Williams a design for a Village Seal showing the Bull Bridge, the river and cattle grazing in the meadow.  J.C. Tildesley had the Seal embossed.  On the whole it seemed to have been a satisfactory first year’s work and at the first Parish Meeting a villager who had opposed their election said that he had pleasure in bearing high testimony to their work and that he did not think a more efficient Parish Council could be found anywhere.

 The role of the Parish Council was not easy.  Increasingly real power lay elsewhere with the District and the County.   It had many successes, due in part to its close relationship with Lord Hatherton and a member of the Rural District Council.

 In later years the Parish Council showed great forward thinking in purchasing the Haling Dene Centre from the Rural District Council to use as its offices and as a Village Community Centre.  The year 2001 saw a 25 year celebration of its purchase.  To mark the occasion social events were arranged in which all ages of the village participated.  Today over 90 organisations use the Haling Dene Centre for their activities.  The Parish Council is also licensed to hold Marriage Ceremonies, one of the first Parish Councils in England to do so.

Financing of the Parish Council 

Each year budgets are prepared and approved by the Council and a “Precept” is then forwarded to the District Council for the amount of money needed.  This is collected by the District Council from parishioners in the form of Council Tax, which is made up of the precepts from the County Council, District Council and Parish or Town Council.   “Precept” is the name given to a sum of money the Precepting Authority (a Council or the Police Authority) asks the Collecting Authority (District) to collect from Council Tax payers.

Penkridge Parish Council works on a Committee system, comprising of Planning, Finance and Resources, Recreation and Amenities, Haling Dene Management and Burial Ground Committees.  Agendas for meetings are sent out to all Councillors in time to allow three clear days’ notice of the holding of the meeting and the agendas have to be displayed on public noticeboards.  All decisions made at the Committee meetings are recommendations only and have to be ratified at the next full Council meeting.  Minutes of the Committee meetings and the full Council meeting are produced and circulated to all Councillors.  The original minutes are stored in a safe place, many older documents having been forwarded to the County Archives for historic reasons. 

In addition to the precept money, Penkridge Parish Council generates income from the Haling Dene Centre and this money goes towards offsetting money spent on village projects.

A large project currently being undertaken by this Council is the provision of a Civil Burial Ground for its people.  The current churchyard is almost full and no more burials will be able to take place in about two years’ time.  It has taken the Council 15 years to purchase a piece of ground which it considered suitable for this major village provision.

Daily Business

The Parish Council employs 11 staff to administer its workings and the running of the Haling Dene Centre.  The Council administers allotment sites, play areas, village benches, flower troughs and helps, along with other Authorities, to improve roads and footpaths and canal towpaths. 

Organisation

The Parish Council employs an Officer who is Clerk to the Council and is responsible for its running, dealing with action from its meetings, monitoring of the finances, legal matters and in particular with the running of its Community Centre.   The Centre itself has a Public Bar and is a popular meeting place for many of the villagers.  The money generated from the Bar assists with the upkeep of the Centre.  Additionally rooms are hired on an exclusive basis to Authorities such as the Police, the Registrar of Births and Deaths and also charitable organisations.   Income from the rooms again goes into the Council’s budgets which helps in keeping the Council Tax at a lower level.  

Parish Council Meetings

Penkridge Parish Council meets once a month with its Committees being organised every two months.  Fifteen Councillors representing various Wards of the village attend the full Council meeting.  There are five Wards in Penkridge.  Items discussed at the main Council meeting are many and vary from month to month, depending on current issues.  Villagers are invited to attend and the Council allows 15 minutes before the official start of its meeting for open discussion with the public on matters raised by them.  It also holds an Annual Parish Meeting when the past year’s achievements are discussed and to which parishioners are invited, but only those living in the village are allowed to vote on issues raised.  At its own annual meeting held in May the Councillors vote in a new Chairman for the coming year and select which Committee they wish to serve on.

Representing People’s Opinions

Penkridge Parish Council invites its parishioners to its meetings and in this way local views and opinions are aired, on which future decisions can be based.  Additionally, the Parish Clerk writes a Newsletter which is distributed to all householders giving information on Parish Council activities and also inviting its parishioners to write and express their views on such matters.  Occasionally leaflets are distributed asking for opinions and choices on current issues.

Extent of Authority

The Parish Council has the power to conduct its own business without recourse to any other Authority.  One thing that a Parish Council cannot do, however, is to borrow money.  To do this, the Council needs to obtain permission to borrow from the Secretary of State.  This is done through the Council’s County Association (S.P.C.A.).

Matters such as roads, footpaths, street lighting etc. are taken care of by the relevant higher Authority and these are provinces confined to them.

Current Problems

As already explained, the provision of a Burial Ground in a short space of time is proving exacting for the Parish Council and obviously the large expenditure is one of the reasons why the village Council Tax has been high in the past few years.  

Additionally, the Haling Dene Centre, which is a Grade II Listed Building and was built in 1841, is now in need of a new roof over the Council Chamber.   A Fund has been started towards the cost of financing this project.

Parish Council’s Future

The important role played by Parish Councils has been recognised by the Government.  There is a renewed commitment to increase the powers and functions of Town and Parish Councils and this pledge is to be backed up with increased direct funding from Central Government. 

A Parish Council is the true voice of the people, being non-political in its decisions, and therefore its existence is assured in the future. 

The publications listed below also appear on the main Parish History pages.  If you know of any other publications about Penkridge, then let me know please.

Publications which relate in part or whole to the history of the Parish and Community of Penkridge: