The Parish Council meets monthly in the Village Hall, with the normal exception of August and December, on the second Monday. Dates of meetings are listed here, and are also posted on the village notice boards. Parish Notice Boards are situated by the telephone box in Meldreth Road, by the post box in Bridge Street and at the main notice board situated alongside the Recreation Ground and Village Hall.
Minutes of meetings will be posted on the notice boards, and are also available on this page.
The Parish Precept is the amount of council tax money that the Parish Council needs to 'run' the village effectively. This includes maintenance, grass cutting, administration and small improvements. Last year we managed to keep the rate at roughly the same as it has been for the past five years but the PC warned that we were unlikely to keep it at that level for this year.
Our reserves have now reduced to about four months' worth of our annual precept (guidance recommends that Parish Council should hold between three and twelve months in reserve) and our annual budget is under pressure from hefty inflationary cost increases, especially for salaries, fuel and materials. We also need to add a little to our reserves so that we can help fund some of the projects that villagers identified in last year's Parish Plan.
Calculations are based upon the number of Band D equivalent properties (219.8) from which we receive our Parish Precept. This remains at a level just below that of last year and so, after a thorough review of our current finances, at our meeting on 8th January, we decided to increase the Parish Precept by 10%. This means that a 'Band D' equivalent property will rise from £79.88 to £87.87 for the year, giving a total Parish Precept amount of £19,313 for 2024-25. In real terms this is an increase of 15 pence per week for Band D properties.
This will give the Parish Council a small increase and take our reserves to about five months' of our annual precept. We are sorry that there has had to be any increase, especially in these difficult times but we must pay our way without allowing the village finances to slide into difficulties.
Lee Ginger
Chair, Whaddon Parish Council
Monday 11 March 2024, Whaddon Village Hall, 19:30 | Agenda
Email enquiries for councillors should be made via whaddonparishcclerk [at] outlook.com
Entries for the Register of Financial Interests for each councillor are now stored on the South Cambridgeshire District Council web site; the entries for Whaddon may be accessed via the link https://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/mgParishCouncilDetails.aspx?ID=392&LS=4.
Chairman | |||
---|---|---|---|
Mr Lee Ginger | 14 Carlton Rise, Melbourn | 01763 262430 | |
Clerk | |||
Angela Bridges | Please leave correspondence for the Clerk in the post box at the Village Hall | 07565 381203 | whaddonparishcclerk [at] outlook.com |
Councillors | |||
Mrs Anita Birch | 68 Bridge Street | 07748 908164 | anitabirch1 [at] hotmail.co.uk |
Mr Will Elbourn | College Farm | 01223 208955 | |
Ms Joanne Hart | Church Street | 01223 208009 | |
Mrs Claire Hales | Bridge Street | ||
Dr Nigel Strudwick (vice-Chairman) |
3 Town Farm Close | 01223 207434 | |
Mrs Deborah Townsend | Bridge Street | 01223 208247 |
Since 2009, planning applications have not been considered at regular Council meetings, but are handled by the Planning Committee. Meetings are scheduled in the Village Hall as and when planning applications are received to ensure that their comments are made to the Planners within the appropriate deadlines; they usually take place on a Monday evening and are public meetings. Dates and agendas are available on this web site and on the village notice boards; minutes are no longer posted on the notice board but are kept on this web site.
Chairman | ||
---|---|---|
Vacant | ||
Members | ||
Mrs Anita Birch | 68 Bridge Street | 07748 908164 |
Mr Will Elbourn | College Farm | 01223 208955 |
Mr Lee Ginger | 14 Carlton Rise, Melbourn | 01763 262430 |
Ms Joanne Hart | Church Street | 01223 208009 |
Mr David Grech | Bridge Street | Non-voting co-opted member |
The following is a link to the Council's Standing Orders, revised May 2022.
In November 2008, the Parish Council received a letter from the Information Commissioners' Office about a new Model Publication Scheme (re Freedom of Information) for Parish Councils. It required the PC to produce a model for how information relating to PC activities can be disseminated, charges for access to information, and so on. The template sent us was worked on by the council and formally adopted at the January 2009 Council meeting.
The following link is to a PDF file of this document, which should be consulted by all who might need to obtain information from the PC.
The categories of information about which we have to provide information are:
Not all these are applicable to Whaddon, but the document gives how and where the available information may be found — it is usually a combination of contacting the Parish Clerk and/or visiting the Village web site.
Further information about the FOI Act and the Information Commissioner's Office will be found on this web site:
Whaddon Parish Council's financial regulations will be found at this link. They were last updated in May 2022.
This information is given following the requirements of the Transparency Code (Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014). Details of all items of expenditure made by the Parish Council can be found in the minutes of Parish Council meetings.
Starting in 2015, Parish Councils are required to publish and keep accessible financial data for all years.
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2023:
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2022:
Details of itemised expenditure for year to 31 March 2021 can be found in the council minutes.
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2021:
Details of itemised expenditure for year to 31 March 2021 can be found in the council minutes.
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2020:
Details of itemised expenditure for year to 31 March 2020 can be found in the council minutes.
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2019:
Details of itemised expenditure for year to 31 March 2019 can be found in the council minutes.
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2018:
Details of itemised expenditure for year to 31 March 2018 can be found in the council minutes.
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2017:
Details of itemised expenditure for year to 31 March 2017 can be found in the council minutes.
These relate to the Financial Year to 31 March 2016:
The following is a link to the Council's Press and Media Policy, approved in June 2016, reviewed in 2022
The following is a link to the Council's Data Protection Policy, approved at the meeting of 13 February 2012, reviewed in 2022
The following is a link to the Council's draft Tree Management Policy, approved at the meeting of 12 March 2018.
The following is a link to the Council's draft Equal Opportunities Policy, approved at the meeting of 12 March 2018.
The following documents relate to how to complain about matters relating to the Parish Council — and also how complaints relate to the Code of Conduct on the adjacent tab. These were adopted on 11 March 2013.
Whaddon PC Complaints Procedure reviewed in May 2022
Whaddon PC Complaints Procedure regarding breaches of the Council Code of Conduct
The following is a link to the Council's Code of Conduct, adopted at the meeting of 13 August 2012, and revised May 2013.