The Parish Council - Origins and functions
Over the centuries, poor relief passed from the monasteries to the church vestries and in combined parishes to the Boards of Guardians. Vestries were given power to provide lighting and charge a rate on the householders, another charge was permitted for highway work within the parish, in addition to the poor rate. This was the beginnings of local government as we know it. Boroughs were historically self governing, the whole country was parished and counties well established.
The demand for services, and the organisation of them, resulted in groups of parishes being joined into Rural District Councils. As a result of the apportionment of services to those councils the parishes were left with no mandatory functions but parish government was formalised in 1894 in two ways. Parishes with elected councils were created; where councils were not elected the district council could appoint one. The very small parishes, like Thomley in Oxfordshire that consisted of one farm and a few cottages, were given parish meeting status where all the electors took on the role of a council.
Parish Councils have no duties - only opportunities. The demand for allotments must however be met where possible. There are a variety of ways in which a Parsih Council may utilize its assets. Old Marston's assets are the burial ground, recreation grounds and allotments. A Parish Council may also spend £5.44 per elector each year on items outside those having statutory consent, provided that the expenditure is for the benefit of some or all of the electors. That amounts to £16,417 this year, the downside being that the money must be raised through the precept.
The precept is an annual demand made by the Parish Council on the City Council requiring it to add to the council tax, for the parish, the amount required. The precept to fund each year's outgoings is determined at the January Parish Council meetings Roy Garner Parish Clerk
Published in Marston Times January 2008
Reprinted by kind permission Jan Sanders, Editor
The Parish Council (2001)
It was in 1894 that the civil parishes were created, functions defined, and powers to raise money, through what is now the Council Tax, granted. It was at this time that our Parish Council was established. It has twelve members who are elected every four years, the next election being in 2003. Electors having an interest in local affairs are encouraged to stand.
The functions are largely permissive. The major one in this parish is recreation. Three recreation areas are provided, two with notable play equipment; shortly the Oxford Road area is to have some £18 000 spent on further equipment. The Council has provided the pavilion for the Boults Lane area with sites for the Scout Hut and the Mortimer Hall. It has provided the Burial Ground that is currently being extended on land previously purchased. An area for ashes has been included in the plan. It may provide for other types of recreation and services like tennis courts, swimming baths, bus shelters, public clocks etc.
The Council has the right to be consulted by the City Council on all planning applications, which are then considered at its monthly meetings.
It was as a result of the efforts of the Council that the older established area was made a Conservation Area. It nominates one governor to the Board of Governors of St Nicholas School and maintains close links with other organizations, both by nomination rights to The Old Marston Charities Trust (two members) and the Mortimer Hall Committee, and by invitation to OXSRAD and the Play Group. A member also attends the City Council Conservation Area Advisory Committee.
One of its major activities is to ensure the roads and footpaths are properly maintained by the City Council. We try to insist on receiving our fair share of money and attention in this respect. One of our long-term campaigns has been for traffic calming and latterly, this has included a 20 mph speed limit on Oxford Road between Marston Ferry Road and the Elsfield Road junction with the fly-over. Our concern for the effect of traffic on the local environment, is now linked to the JRII extension and the effects on the Parish of the additional traffic and parking. The Park and Ride position is being constantly monitored.
The Council may carry out maintenance on light footpaths, which are not Highway Footpaths. The Council is also permitted to spend up to £3.50 per elector per year, about £9000, for the benefit of some or all of the residents. This provision is used to give grants to other parish organizations.
The Council is required to provide allotments. These are in Mill Lane where about twenty await tenants. The allotments in Oxford Road are owned by the City Council and run by the Court Place Farm Allotment Association, who have about one hundred begging for tenants.
The Council, being a local authority subject to parliamentary controls in the same way as the County and City Councils, has to have regard to the legal position in deciding what local concerns it can support. Here the Old Marston Residents Association can be most helpful. It is separate from the Council and it was the campaign to get sewers in Horseman Close repaired at public expense that renewed its impetuous. Since then it has been active in affairs affecting the Parish.
Published in Marston Times January 2001
Reprinted by kind permission Jan Sanders, Editor
History of Parish Councils (article from Wargrave Parish Council Website)
A Parish Council, also known as a Local Council, is a statutory local authority in its own right. It has a wide variety of powers conferred by many statutes (Acts of Law), which it administers within it's parish boundary (local authority area).
A common misconception is that today's Parish Council is in some way connected with, or part of, the Church. The confusion arises over the word "parish", but to fully understand this a brief history lesson is required.
The origins of most English parishes dates back over 500 years to a time when England was divided into areas known as 'manors' owned by Lords. The Lord of the Manor had a civil responsibility to maintain his starving tenants through the right of levy (taxation). This was imposed using an assembly system of local administration known as a 'court'. Over time and as the manor courts' power declined, the influence, wealth and responsibility of the Church increased. Gradually the Lord of the Manor's rights and responsibilities were taken over by the Church, which had recognised rights and obligations of charity to the poor. The obligations were managed in each church's parochial area, which is known as a parish.
These responsibilities were administered through meetings of the inhabitants and were known as Vestries (as they were usually held in the Church Vestry). As the population expanded so did the size of the meetings, so much so that they split into smaller more administratively efficient committees called Select Vestries which in turn each claimed a separate existence. Unfortunately the Select Vestries using their power of levy known as the Church Rate, rapidly became notorious for being corrupt. As the vestries' origins was in an ecclesiastical institution, considerable damage was done to the old parochial system of authorities.
In the 1800's the Church Rate was abolished and the poor law administration was withdrawn from the parochial authorities. As society developed new administrative services were created to fulfil the needs of the parish and were assigned to specialised bodies. The organisation of these services proved to be inefficient and complicated. It took Parliament twenty years of legislation and experimentation to resolve the issue.
In 1894 the Local Government Act was passed which created local authorities responsible for the administration of a parish's services as well as the civil functions of the older parochial institutions - the new authorities were known as Parish Councils.
