Brockley Parish Council

Brockley Parish Council meet in the village hall every two months, and everyone is welcome.  The parish council currently has it full quota of councillors, seven, who represent all areas of the village; from the B1066, Woodcrofts Close, Birdbrook, Chapel Lane and Mill Road.

Parish Councillors are volunteers and a number also volunteer with other organisations within the village: three parish councillors are trustees of the village hall, one councillor is a church warden and also a trustee of the Brockley Charitable Trust. Our farming community is also represented.

What do parish council’s do?

A parish council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of the people in the parish and has an overall responsibility for the well-being of its local community.  It is the level government closest to the community, with the district authority above it in the hierarchy. As it is the authority closest to the people, parish councils are invariably the first place people will go with concerns or ideas.  For this reason they are a vital part of any community.

Its work falls into three main categories:

• representing the local community
• delivering services to meet local needs
• striving to improve quality of life in the parish

What decisions do Parish Councils make?

Parish councils make all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the local community.  Probably the most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), crime prevention, helping local groups, managing open spaces and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities.

It’s true to say that on their own, parish councils have limited powers to make decisions.  But they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions (such as the borough or unitary council, health authorities, police etc).

In this respect parish councils are extremely powerful.  The organisations that make the final decisions know that a parish council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something, and its views will be taken seriously.

What is the role of Parish Councillors?

A councillor’s role can include developing strategies and plans for the area, helping with problems and ideas, representing the community, working with other local community groups, making decisions, and talking to the community about their needs and what the council is doing.

A councillor's role has three main areas:

• Decision-making — Councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered, and what policies should be implemented by attending meetings and committees.
• Monitoring — Councillors ensure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by monitoring how well things work.
• Getting involved locally — As local representatives, councillors have responsibilities towards their constituents and local organisations. These responsibilities often depend on what a given councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available.