What does a Parish Council do?
It is directly responsible for providing the following services to the village:
- Street lighting throughout the village
- Cemetery control and management: the cemetery is situated on Brackley Road
- Allotments – control and management: the allotments are situated at the western end of High Street (please contact the Parish Clerk if you are interested in renting one)
- Bus Shelters – the Council currently provides one shelter in front of Croughton Club in the High Street
- Dog Bins at several points in the village
- Grass cutting at the cemetery, new pocket park on the old allotment site, verges and green spaces that the Council is grant aided for by Northamptonshire County Council.
It initiates improvements and developments in the village through:
- Improving village facilities: for example, the new cemetery access road, gate and fencing in 2005
- Working with other village organisations for example – it is the ‘Custodian Trustee for the Playing Fields and Village Hall Charitable Trust, to promote and improve public facilities
- Promoting village projects: for example, the design and building of Croughton Village Hall in 2002 and the current developments of the Pocket Park and Croughton Web-site
- Supporting village organisations and activities: for example, the grant-aided 2006 summer activities for children
It influences local developments through:
- Commenting on planning applications: South Northamptonshire District Council at Towcester give details to the Parish Council of every planning application within the parish and will usually take into account the Council’s comments when coming to a decision. Residents can also make their individual views known directly to the Planning Department at Towcester.
- Monitoring Public Rights of Way
- Commenting on proposed highways schemes proposed by the highways authority, Northamptonshire County Council
- Responding to Consultation Documents from both County and District Councils and other agencies
The Parish Council reviews annually the amount required to support existing facilities and new developments and then sets a budget for the proposed expenditure. A request for funding, known as the Precept, is then made and the money is collected by South Northamptonshire District Council from the Council Tax. Audited accounts are prepared each year and can be made available for inspection by residents.
The following are the Standing Orders that govern the way the Council operates:
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Parish Council has adopted a publication scheme in line with the requirements of the 2000 Freedom of Information Act. This summarises the classes of information that the Parish Council makes available to the general public. The following document indicates how access can be gained to the different types of information.