Wistow Parish Council – What we are and what we do.
Wistow Parish Council is the lowest tier of Government and as such has to follow rules and regulations as to what it can or cannot do, we are guided by the National Association of Local Councils, and the Yorkshire Association of Local Councils. Please visit the Documents / Policies area for some of the Policies that we have tailored to our own adoption.
We sit within the Selby District Council auspex (from April 2023 to be the new single unitary authority Council for North Yorkshire).
We receive advice and guidance from a Parish Clerk; we are a Committee of Elected Councillors that are not employees nor are paid for their work.
Parish Councillors are elected for a period of four years; vacancies arising are filled by a process of co-option, or a bi-election; a Chairman is elected annually.
We have some working groups, consisting of selected Parish Councillors, to manage and report on some areas of Parish Council activity and then report back to the whole Parish Council; members of the Public may be invited to be part of these working groups.
All decisions by the Parish Council may only be made at a Parish Council Meeting, which are held monthly.
We are responsible for managing our own budget which is financed through the precept, an amount of money calculated as an estimate for the coming financial year and collected as part of your Council Tax. This money is used to improve facilities and services in Wistow.
Some village activities for which we are responsible:
- Grass cutting for most of the areas in Wistow, but not Prospect Place which is by North Yorkshire Council.
- Maintenance of the Village Green.
- Maintenance of the Playground and Skate Park at the Jubilee Hall.
- Provision of waste bins (emptying is by Selby District Council).
- The defibrillator.
- Electrical charges for Street Lighting and the Village Green (including the defibrillator).
- Maintenance of some street lights that we own.
- Developoment of the new Wistow Cemetry.
We welcome input from residents on what the community needs, so that we can budget for that activity.