Parish Council

The Village of Acol is served by Acol Parish Council. Please refer to Parish Council sub-menus - mouse-over "Parish Council" - to select information about Parish Councillors, Council Meetings, policy and finance etc from the displayed menu.  

In England, a Civil Parish (as opposed to an Ecclesiastical Parish, upon whose area it is likely to be based) is a territory with the lowest tier of local government, below District and County Councils. (In Acol, Thanet District Council & Kent County Council.)

Typical activities undertaken by parish councils include:

• The provision and upkeep of certain local facilities such as allotments, bus shelters, parks, playgrounds, public seats, public toilets, public clocks, street lights, village or town halls, and various leisure and recreation facilities.
• Maintenance of footpaths, cemeteries and village greens
• Since 1997 parish councils have had new powers to provide community transport (such as a minibus) and crime prevention measures (such as CCTV) and to contribute money towards traffic calming schemes.
• Parish councils should act as a channel of local opinion to larger local government bodies, and as such have the right to be consulted on any planning decisions affecting the parish.
• Giving of grants to local voluntary organisations, and sponsoring public events, including entering Britain in Bloom.

Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of the council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as Parish Clerk (as in Acol). Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. (In Acol, the Playing Field is currently maintained, under contract, by Serco.)

The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to the population of the parish. Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on the council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats must be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor.

The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced the 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt a new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life.

As well as the Parish Councillors, in Acol, Parish Council meetings are typically attended by Thanet Villages Councillors from Thanet District Council and Kent County Council, our local Community Warden, and local Police Community Support Officer.

You have the right to request information from any publicly-funded body, and get answers. WhatDoTheyKnow helps you make a Freedom of Information request. It also publishes all requests online.