Parish Council

The Parish Council's area of the website is here to keep you as informed and involved as possible about the past, present and future activities of the Parish Council which works on behalf of the people of Yaxham.

Full Meetings are held every two months and Planning Meetings are held as and when necessary.  Any parishioner is welcome to come along and hear discussion about current issues.  A public session is held prior to the commencement of each meeting.

Parish Council Minutes

The Parish Council makes its minutes available to download for any villager or user who wishes to examine them. For older Minutes or further information, please contact the Clerk.

What does a parish council do?

Parish Councils are the cheapest and least bureaucratic kind of local authority and in Yaxham all councillors are independent of any political party. The seven Councillors are elected for four years and bye-elections may be held to fill vacancies occurring between elections.

Who controls the Parish Council?
A Chairman is elected each year and controls the business of a Parish Council meeting. The Parish Clerk takes the Minutes, carries out the approved policies of the Council and ensures the accounts are strictly kept. Parish Council meetings are open to the public and an Annual Meeting for all parish electors is held in May

Finance
In Yaxham, the Parish Precept of £7,190 for 2009/2010 is divided by a formula based on the number of properties in Yaxham and collected as part of the Council Tax payment.

What powers has the Parish Council to do things?
The size of the village and the level of precept is obviously limiting but over the years the Parish Council has had considerable input to the provision and maintenance of the village hall, ongoing maintenance and summer mowing of the playing field and Pinns Corner. Bus shelters, notice boards, planters, rights of way, footpaths and bridleways are all monitored and mostly maintained by the Parish Council. It has the power to improve the quality of village life by spending sums of money on things, which, in their opinion, are in the interests of the parish and its residents. Initiating and maintaining the village website is one example.

Current Issues
The Parish Counci is still keen to see a cycle/footway up to Westfield Lane along the B1135. Support is needed from those of you who are concerned about the increasing volume and speed of traffic through the village or like to walk/cycle into Dereham. However, this is in the hands of Norfolk County Council Highways and the Parish Council is not able to do more than keep the issue on the burner – with the help of parishioners letters.

Your views
Feedback from residents is vitally important if your Parish Council is to reflect your views. Please utilise the opportunity on the website to have your say.

The public and press are always very welcome to attend each meeting of the Parish Council. Check this up-to-date diary here for dates and times.

The Parish Council meets in the Jubilee Hall Meeting Room at the rear of the Village Hall.  Full Meetings  of the Council are usually held on the second Thursday of January, March, May, July, September and November at 7:30pm. Planning Meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of February, April, June, August, October and December, again at 7:30pm.  If there are no planning matters to discuss, the meeting will be cancelled.  Notices will be posted on the Parish Council noticeboards and on this page the weekend prior to the scheduled meeting.

In May every year the Annual Parish Meeting is held. All parishioners are invited to attend.  This is your Meeting at which you may ask the Parish Council to arrange for a speaker on a particular subject of interest to the village, discuss matters that concern you and hear what your Council has achieved during the past year.