What is Batchworth Parish?

Updated: 27 March 2017

Batchworth Parish is a new parish within the Three Rivers District Council covering the two wards of Moor Park & Eastbury, and Rickmansworth Town. Its Parish Council will be called Batchworth Parish Council...

Batchworth Parish is a new parish within the Three Rivers District Council covering the two wards of Moor Park & Eastbury, and Rickmansworth Town. Its Parish Council will be called Batchworth Parish Council.

It will have eight Councillors, four councillors in each ward following its first elections in May 2017. The Councillors will be elected for two years with ordinary elections taking place in May 2019, and every four years thereafter, to synchronise these with the majority of other Parish Councils.

Dr Steven Halls, Chief Executive of Three Rivers District Council said: “Make sure your voice is heard by voting in the Batchworth Parish Council elections on 4 May 2017. If you haven’t already done so, you need to register to vote. It only takes five minutes”

To register, visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote  to find out more. The deadline for registration applications is Thursday 13 April and for postal vote applications is Tuesday 18 April by 5pm.

Batchworth Parish Council Q&A

What is Batchworth Parish?

Batchworth Parish is a new parish within the Three Rivers District Council covering the two wards of Moor Park & Eastbury, and Rickmansworth Town. Its Parish Council will be called Batchworth Parish Council.

It will have eight Councillors, four councillors in each ward following its first elections in May 2017. The Councillors will be elected for two years with ordinary elections taking place in May 2019, and every four years thereafter, to synchronise these with the majority of other Parish Councils.

Are parish councillors paid an allowance?

Parish councillors are not paid an allowance, but may incur costs which can be reimbursed.

Why was Batchworth Parish Council set up?

The Council received a petition from the 4 Wards Community Council Campaign organisers in October 2015, which by Law required the Council to undertake a Community Governance Review with a view to creating a new Community (Parish) Council for the unparished part of the District.

How was Batchworth Parish Council set up?

Batchworth Parish Council was set up through a community governance review. A community governance review enables a principal council such as Three Rivers District Council to review and put in place or make changes to community governance systems and structures e.g. by creating, merging, abolishing or changing parish, town or community councils in the review area. NB. A community council has the same powers as a Parish Council.

What did Three Rivers District Council take into account when undertaking the Community Governance Review?

Three Rivers District Council was required to take into account:

  • the impact of existing community governance arrangements on community cohesion and
  • the size, population and boundaries of any local community or proposed Community Council.

In carrying out a Community Governance Review, Three Rivers District Council considered the wider picture of community governance.

This included taking account of well-established forms of community governance such as local residents’ associations and community forums

Guidance does, however, indicate that parish / community councils are set apart from these other kinds of governance by the fact that they are a democratically elected tier of local government and can set a budget and possess specific powers.

Information on Parish Councils

A Parish Council is funded through a sum of money called a ‘precept’ – this is a separate charge which is added to, and collected along with, your existing Council Tax. The precept for Batchworth Parish Council for 2017/18 is £105,560.

This will be paid for by residents in the wards of Rickmansworth Town and Moor Park & Eastbury, as part of their Council Tax bill.

The Parish Council will decide on an annual basis what precept it will need for the coming year and that depends on what services and facilities are needed by the local community.

The Parish Council can also apply for grants and loans.

What does a Parish Council do?

They have statutory powers which could include the following services, over and above those already provided by Three Rivers District Council. The services which Batchworth Parish Council will provide will not be agreed until the Parish Councillors are elected and meet in May 2017. The Parish Council will also work with Three Rivers District Council to agree which of the services below it would like to be involved in delivering.

Service or Facility

What can a town, parish or community council do?

Allotments

Power to provide land for allotments and to enter into allotment tenancies in our outside the council’s area (Small Holding and Allotments Act 1908, ss.23,25)

Burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria

Acquire, maintain and provide burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria. Maintain monuments and memorials and contribute towards the expenses of cemeteries.

Bylaws

Make bylaws for pleasure grounds, cycle parks, baths and washhouses, open spaces, burial grounds, mortuaries and post-mortem rooms.

Commons and common pastures

Enclose, regulate and manage commons and provide common pasture.

Community Centres

Provide and equip buildings for use by athletic, social or educational clubs.

Crime Prevention

Spend money on various crime prevention measures.

Entertainment and the arts

Provide entertainment and support for the arts.

Highways

Repair and maintain public footpaths and bridleways.  Power to light roads and public places in the council’s area.  Provide litter bins, parking places for vehicles, bicycles and motor-cycles, roadside seats and shelters, bus shelters, traffic signs and other notices.  Plant trees and maintain roadside verges.

Litter

Provide litter bins.

Mortuaries and post mortem rooms

Provide mortuaries and post mortem rooms.

Open Spaces

Acquire and maintain land used for open spaces.

Public conveniences

Provide public conveniences.

Service or Facility

What can a town, parish or community council do

Recreation

Acquire land for and provide recreation grounds, public walks, pleasure grounds and manage and control them.  Provide gymnasiums, playing fields, holiday camps and boating pools.

Town and country planning

Be notified of planning applications and submit comments on them to the local planning authority.

Tourism

Contribute to organisations encouraging tourism.

Traffic calming and Transport

Spend money on community transport schemes.

War memorials

Maintain, repair and protect war memorials.