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Who we are and what we do
Shropshire Council | Your Member of Parliament | Planning Applications
THE PARISH COUNCIL
Shawbury Parish Council, elected by the local parishioners, is the first tier of local government and is one of 70,000 parish and town councils in England. Its role is to serve the interests of the community and improve the quality of the local environment.
The Council represents the village of Shawbury and the smaller communities around the village including Edgebolton, Muckleton and Great Wytheford. Elections are held every four years and the Council has an allocation of twelve seats. At the last election there were only eight nominations and as a result the Council has had to co-opt four additional Members.
Local Councils have powers granted by the Government, including the authority to raise money through taxation. This is known as the precept and in Shawbury for the coming year this has been set at £38,000.00. The Council uses this money to provide a range of services which include street lighting, ground maintenance, children’s play areas, litter collection, etc. The precept can be supplemented by other money raised by the Council, including grant aid from a range of providers.
The administration of the Council is handled by the Parish Clerk/Responsible Finance Officer, who is the only paid employee of the Council. Any other service carried out, is contracted to individuals or companies. Council Members do not receive any payment and have voted not to claim allowances.
The Council meets once a month in the Village Hall, with the exception of August. Details of meetings and Agendas are published locally and will be published on this web site. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meetings and listen to the debate.
Members of the Council, with the support of interested parishioners, have recently completed a Parish Plan and this has help to identify the needs and aspirations of the local community. Using this as a base the Council has adopted a pro-active approach to its business and an exciting programme of developments has and is taking place. This approach has been recognised by other providers and as a result the some thirty two thousand pounds has been raised in grant aid.