Located in rural Telford & Wrekin, Edgmond Parish covers an area of 1690 hectares, including not only the village of Edgmond, but also the hamlets of Adeney, Edgmond Marsh, Caynton, Calvington and Sidlington. Harper Adams University also lies within the parish.
Edgmond Parish Council is made up of Members, called Councillors, who together represent the people of the Parish. They are elected directly to represent the people and therefore have to consider not just the interests of the electorate, but everyone throughout the area, whether they live, work or visit the Parish.
Members have a complex role as they have personal, individual and collective responsibilities for the Council’s activities. Whether or not a member of a political group, when acting as a Parish Councillor, politics do not come into any of their decisions. No Councillor can make a decision on behalf of the entire Council. All matters for discussion are included on an agenda, which is made available to the public, and the recorded decision is a decision of the Council, regardless of whether all Councillors were in favour at the time of the vote.
Elections take place every four years and anyone living or working in the Parish, or within 3 miles of the boundary, can stand for election. Edgmond Parish has 13 local councillors. If there were to be fourteen nominations, an election would take place and the 13 with the most votes would be elected. However if there were 13 or fewer, then they would become Parish Councillors unopposed and the Parish Council could fill any vacancies by co-option.
All Councillors sign a Declaration of Acceptance of Office before becoming a Member and this is to confirm that they will work within the law according to the Government’s Code of Conduct at all times. All Councillors also have to complete a Register of Disclosable Interests. These documents are available on the website.
The Clerk is the Proper Officer of the Council and deals with the administration of the Council on a day-to-day basis.
Our Clerk, Katrina Baker MBE, works part time from home and can be contacted on 07813 788094 or by email
Katrina was awarded the National Association of Local Council’s Clerk of the Year Award in 2002 and received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2006, for her services to the community.
The Clerk’s overall responsibility is to carry out the policy decisions of the Council, like a Chief Executive of a principal authority. It is Katrina’s role to ensure that the business of the council runs smoothly and efficiently and is conducted at all times in accordance with law.
She prepares agendas for the Full Council and all Committee meetings, attends the meetings to take notes and advise and then prepares the Minutes. Following which all correspondence is actioned.
Full Council meetings take place on the second Monday of every other month and are held in the Committee Room at Edgmond Village Hall. There is a ten minute public session at the start of each Full Council meeting when local residents are invited to raise any matters of concern or interest. Members of the public are welcome to stay for the rest of the meeting if they wish to. Meetings are also open to the press.
At each AGM the Council elects a Chairman and Vice Chairman and decides which members will sit on the four Committees.
The Committees are:
The agendas and minutes of meetings are available on this website and you can register with the Clerk to have them emailed direct to you whenever they are published.
A separate Steering Group was set up in 2016 to guide the Council through the process of creating a Neighbourhood Plan. The work of this Group has now been completed.
A further role is that of the Responsible Financial Officer. This includes preparing the annual budget, monitoring expenditure throughout the year and creating the end of year accounts for external audit.
A Clerk also has the resposibility of guiding and advising the Council on matters of law and procedure. The Clerk must advise the Council at any point if a decision under consideration would be ultra vires and can then advise the Council of alternative options that the Councillors may consider.
The Clerk may not always agree with a Council decision, but must carry out the resolutions of the Council, providing they are lawful and that the Council has the authority to carry out such a decision.
Conservative
Manderley, Howle, Newport, Shropshire, TF10 8AY
You can find out more about Parish Councils by clicking on this link.
