Parish councils

Parish councils

Parish councils provide a number of local services themselves or concurrently with the district council such as: allotments, care of cemeteries and maintenance of (some) open spaces and public buildings.

The Leader of Three Rivers District Council, Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, discusses with the Chair of Sarratt Parish Council, Cllr Sarah Dobson, about parish councils and what they do for residents (filmed on 20 August 2025):

For information on a specific parish council, please select the relevant section. Please note, the information included has been provided by the parish councils, for the most up to date news and information please visit the parish council websites.

Abbots Langley Parish Council

Abbots Langley Parish Council serves the community through the following on-going aims:

• Service Quality – To deliver the highest quality service for the residents of the parish within the approved budget
• Income / Expenditure Management – To safeguard public money entrusted to the parish council and secure high quality and value for money
• Sustainability – To find ways to increase sustainability and minimise impact to the environment

Abbots Langley Parish Council provides the following services for the benefit of its residents:

• Sport facilities such as playing fields for cricket, football, and bowling greens as well as multi games areas including tennis and basketball
• Open spaces including children’s play areas, woodlands, and a fruit orchard
• Allotments sites (4 sites, 127 plots) available to residents
• Grounds maintenance and upkeep for the parish area, including trees, grassed areas and other open spaces, and parish owned footpaths
• Venues for hire to residents, organisations and companies
• Support for local organisations and activities both through financial grants and through the support of council staff in the planning and staging of events
• Support for district and county play schemes available to local residents
• Statutory consultee on all planning and licensing applications within the parish
• Maintenance of parish owned street furniture including benches, noticeboards, bus shelters, footpath lights and bins, as well as collection of litter and dog litter bins
• Maintenance of Langleybury War Memorial
• Maintenance of parish owned car parks (6)

Batchworth Community Council

Batchworth Community Council Services

Batchworth Community Council's mission is to act for the benefit of the overall community and to enhance the quality of life for residents while safeguarding the heritage and wider environment of Eastbury, Moor Park and Rickmansworth. The council works to understand the diverse needs of the community, representing different groups and ensuring their views are considered.

Planning

The council is a statutory consultee on all planning applications made in the wards of Moor Park & Eastbury and Rickmansworth Town. The planning committee meets every 2 weeks and submits comments to Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) planning department. The meetings are open to residents to raise objections or to support applications.

The council has developed a Neighbourhood Plan which aims to encourage development which preserves and enhances our area’s natural assets, identity, infrastructure and facilities in future years. This plan is now part of TRDC’s Development Plan and is used to guide planning decisions. 

Resident Communication

A newsletter (‘Home Page’) is distributed three times a year to all residences and businesses in the area. Information is also distributed through the website, social media channels and via a council stall at the monthly market. 

Community Infrastructure

The council receives a portion of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) paid by developers on larger developments in the two wards. The council consults with residents and local organisations to spend the funds on infrastructure projects for the benefit of the community. 

Supporting Local Organisations

The council considers grant applications from organisations in the area.

Markets

The council has organised and operated a very popular monthly market in Rickmansworth High Street since April 2022 and attracts over 40 stallholders.

Since April 2024, the council has responsibility as a market authority, reviewing and approving applications by local groups and operators to hold markets in the wards.

Greening

Council funding provides year-round maintenance of planters, railing barrier troughs and summer hanging baskets throughout the two wards.

In 2024, the council obtained a 5-year planting licence (from Herts CC) to plant and maintain a garden in Northway Triangle, Rickmansworth and are seeking opportunities in other parts of the wards.

Funding support assists local groups in maintaining community gardens in Rickmansworth and the council is seeking to support maintenance of other green spaces in our area.

Community Events

The council organises community wide events including commemoration of significant anniversaries (D Day 80, VE Day 80), annual Remembrance Day together with annual festive lights throughout the two wards.

Council funding supports locally organised events such as Eastbury Residents’ Association Summer Fair, Rickmansworth Town Team Winter Fair and Folk Festival and Moor Park Residents’ Association Winter market.

Office and Drop In

The council administration is managed by a clerk and two officers, all part-time, based in our office in Basing House, Rickmansworth. Residents are encouraged to visit during drop-in times on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday between 9am – 1pm.

Chorleywood Parish Council

About Chorleywood Parish Council

• Chorleywood Parish Council is made up of seventeen elected members. The majority of councillors stand as independents, although some represent political parties
• Decisions are made collectively by the council in meetings, both scheduled (ordinary) and non-scheduled (extraordinary) for urgent matters. Members of the public are very welcome to attend any of the meetings; these are advertised on the website www.chorleywood-pc.gov.uk and parish notice boards (one outside the office and one in the village centre at the junction of Shire Road and Blackett Woods Drive). Members of the public can also speak at these in the Public Forum at the start of each meeting
• Full Council meets every eight weeks, but a lot of its work is carried out in committees which cover Open Spaces, Village Halls, Planning, Policy & Resources (including Finance & Administration), Sustainability and Staffing
• The council has 11 staff: A CEO/ Clerk, a Responsible Financial Officer, three other administrative officers , a Head and a Deputy Head Ranger, two other Rangers and three caretakers for the village halls. Together they implement the decisions of the council and look after its services and assets on a day-to-day basis
• In April 2024, we were pleased to receive a Foundation Award under the Local Council Award Scheme, recognising that the council operates at a national professional standard and is dedicated to delivering quality services to the residents it serves.

The services and facilities Chorleywood Parish Council look after

Chorleywood Parish Council are responsible for providing and/or maintaining the following services and facilities:

• Allotments (with sites at Copmans Wick, Dog Kennel Lane and the Swillet)
• Chorleywood Common, a designated local nature reserve
• Chorleywood Lawn Cemetery
• Grovewood
• The War Memorial Hall (including the Common Room, Hollybush Hall and the former Royal British Legion Hall) and Bullsland Hall on behalf of a registered charity

They also:

• Act as contractors to Hertfordshire County Council in maintaining some of the public footpaths in Chorleywood
• Have a right to comment on planning, licensing and related applications and also consultations issued by Three Rivers District or Hertfordshire County Council (for example the recent Local Cycling and Walking Plan and new car parking restrictions) in and affecting the parish
• Put on community and civic events on the Common and in the Village Halls, such as Village Day, Outdoor Cinema, Christmas Wreath making and the popular Halloween Trail, and events to mark VE and D Day and pay for the annual Christmas Lights display in the village
• Contribute towards Neighbourhood Policing by funding a PCSO who is dedicated to the parish
• Provide grants for community organisations to enable them to provide services and facilities supporting residents as well as organising a community shed
• Have a website – www.chorleywood-pc.gov.uk and social media pages (they primarily communicate via Facebook and Instagram) where they publicise what the parish council does and share relevant information from other stakeholders that affects residents of Chorleywood
• Have a monthly newsletter which is emailed to people on the parish mailing list.  Residents can sign up to this via the landing page of the website.  The council also pays for a page in Chorleywood Magazine and supplies information to Chorleywood Residents Association (CRA) for their monthly email update and to My Chorleywood News to try and reach as many people as possible
• Organise an annual Parish meeting to enable residents to address the council on matters of concern to them and projects they would like to see delivered
• Work with local stakeholders to deliver improvements and respond to concerns and issues for the benefit of residents, including the CRA

Commitment to residents

Chorleywood Parish Council are committed to understanding the views, needs and wants of all members of their community.

Croxley Green Parish Council

Croxley Green Parish Council provides the following services:

• Maintains The Green and Stone’s Orchard (under direction of Three Rivers District Council)
• Manages Weston Wood and associated woodland paths
• Provides full footpath maintenance across the village, including overgrowth clearance, signage checks, and surface assessments
• Installs, empties, and maintains dog waste bins
• Reviews all local planning applications and submits comments to Three Rivers District Council
• Applies policies from the Croxley Green Neighbourhood Plan (2017–2032)
• Focuses on protecting character, conserving heritage assets, and opposing inappropriate development
• Owns and operates the Parish Office and Depot
• Maintains benches, noticeboards, flower planters, public signage, and Christmas decorations
• Supports litter picking and minor maintenance on local footpaths and green spaces.
• Organises annual village events, including: Diwali, Dog Show, VE Day community picnic, Christmas Market, Remembrance Parade
• Facilitates the Youth Council (ages 11–18)
• Runs public consultations and forums for resident feedback
• Offers small grants to community-led projects
• Provides a weekly Community Bus

Sarratt Parish Council

About Sarratt Parish Council

Sarratt is quite a large parish geographically - sitting within the green belt, it's a rural parish but population wise it’s quite small. There are only 850 houses in the main village of Sarratt and the surrounding hamlets. A large part of what the council does therefore is around the environment.

What Sarratt Parish Council do

The majority of commons, woodlands, greens and 27 miles of footpaths are all owned by the parish council, together with 40 allotments and the King George V Playing Fields - the pavilion and the playground.

The council also delivers services to the parish. For example, it provides and empty dog bins. The parish council owns and maintains four defibrillators.

With regard to matters like planning, the council tries to ensure that its responses to the district council as the local planning authority represent the views of local residents but also that the parish continues to grow and thrive but in a way with that is appropriate for the parish but also meets the local housing needs. Much of this is encapsulated in the local neighbourhood plan which is close to being finalised.

The parish council represents the views of its residents and  is often there to provide information or help them resolve issues.

Financial management is really critical. The council’s budget is paid for by local residents through their council tax. The council strives to make sure that its financial processes are robust, that it stays within budget, and the money it does spend is spent for the benefit of the community, which includes the giving of grants each year to local community organisations.

The council has a parish office which is staffed by a parish clerk. It’s open each weekday for residents to pop in, but they can also telephone or email. The council has a website which holds the agendas and minutes of all the meetings which parishioners are welcome to attend. The website also holds all the policies of the council which describe how it works.

In addition, the council has an email distribution list set up that goes out to parishioners that they can sign up for – it’s very much around news and immediate information.

The council also produces a report each month for the parish magazine ‘Spotlight’ which is delivered to every single one of the homes in the parish. The council also has notice boards outside the village hall and outside the Sarratt village shop.

Watford Rural Parish Council

What services do Watford Rural Parish Council offer?

Watford Rural Parish Council has a range of powers to provide and manage local services, some of the services are listed below:

• Maintains 1 play area in Greenfield Avenue
• Maintains 1 Wildflower Meadow/Park - The Mead
• Provides and maintains dog bins
• Provides and maintains bus shelters
• Provides and maintains wayside seats
• Runs a Community Market every Sunday
• Runs three free exercise classes (Yoga & Pilates) for the over 55's at our parish council building.
• Provides a two course lunch on Tuesdays (Retirees)
• Grass cutting in specified areas
• Liaises with the district council in relation to planning issues
• Provides local events such as fun days
• Provides a community hall for hire for parties/events
• Provides and maintains noticeboards
• Provides FREE dog bags - ask in reception
• Provides grants for local charities/schools/non-profit groups
• Taxi voucher scheme for the elderly and disabled
• Hearing Aid Clinic monthly

The council also sell caddy bin liners for the small brown bin and nappy sacks.