Parish Council Meetings
South Heighton Parish Council Meetings are held approximately every five weeks throughout the year with the exception of August and December when no meeting is held. It is a statutory requirement for parish councils to hold at least 4 meetings a year, of which one must be the Annual Council Meeting (ACM). A Parish Council must also hold an Annual Parish Meeting (APM). The ACM and APM meetings generally take place in May and are explained further down this page.
Every meeting is open to the public and 15 minutes is available at the start of each meeting for questions from the floor. Each speaker is restricted to 3 minutes. Members of the public can be excluded for certain agenda items on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted. In practice this is a rare occurrence.
Each South Heighton Parish Council meeting agenda contains the following sections;
Every meeting is open to the public and 15 minutes is available at the start of each meeting for questions from the floor. Each speaker is restricted to 3 minutes. Members of the public can be excluded for certain agenda items on the grounds that publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted. In practice this is a rare occurrence.
Each South Heighton Parish Council meeting agenda contains the following sections;
- General Business – which includes the public question time; apologies for absence; approval of the minutes of the previous meeting; the chairman’s announcements – mainly correspondence; and declarations of interest from councillors where appropriate.
- Reports to Note – includes updates by individual councillors on matters they have been involved in since the last meeting.
- Reports for Decision and Discussion – contains those matters which require a formal decision by the parish council or serious discussion and information in relation to the Decisions to be made will often be available in the form of a Report. This section also includes an update on the financial position of parish council funds.
- Other Business – this would be used to confirm the date of the next meeting.
ANNUAL MEETINGS
ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETING
Every May the Parish Council holds an annual council meeting. This is a statutory requirement. Besides conducting normal parish business this meeting elects the Chairman and Vice Chairman for the forthcoming year, appoints Councillors to committees, working groups and representatives to outside bodies, it is also used to agree and set the dates for future Parish Council meetings.
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
This is not a Parish Council meeting but a meeting of the electors in the parish. The opportunity is taken by the Parish Council to report on matters to electors and listen to views from electors in attendance. It also allows debate on current matters of interest. It is a statutory requirement for the Annual Parish Meeting to be held between 1 March and 1 June each year. South Heighton Parish Council usually hold the Annual Parish Meeting in May.
Every May the Parish Council holds an annual council meeting. This is a statutory requirement. Besides conducting normal parish business this meeting elects the Chairman and Vice Chairman for the forthcoming year, appoints Councillors to committees, working groups and representatives to outside bodies, it is also used to agree and set the dates for future Parish Council meetings.
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
This is not a Parish Council meeting but a meeting of the electors in the parish. The opportunity is taken by the Parish Council to report on matters to electors and listen to views from electors in attendance. It also allows debate on current matters of interest. It is a statutory requirement for the Annual Parish Meeting to be held between 1 March and 1 June each year. South Heighton Parish Council usually hold the Annual Parish Meeting in May.
South Heighton Parish Council Meeting Dates
Under the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 4th April 2020, South Heighton Parish Council will be holding virtual meetings until the guidance regarding public gatherings is updated. Members of the public are welcome to observe these remote meetings and to submit questions or statements to be addressed in the public session at the start of the meeting. Please contact the Clerk for the meeting log-on details. Our next virtual meeting will be:
Under the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 4th April 2020, South Heighton Parish Council will be holding virtual meetings until the guidance regarding public gatherings is updated. Members of the public are welcome to observe these remote meetings and to submit questions or statements to be addressed in the public session at the start of the meeting. Please contact the Clerk for the meeting log-on details. Our next virtual meeting will be:
- Tuesday 12th January 2021 at 7pm
