Welcome to STILLINGFLEET PARISH COUNCIL
The Parish Council is the bottom rung in the ladder of local government administration.
Stillingfleet Parish Council’s vision is to improve the quality of life for people of the Parish; building upon the character and community spirit within the Parish, addressing their needs and encouraging all social sectors of the community to develop as an inclusive and vibrant community.
The Parish Council aims to:
1. Improve the development, appearance, and environment in which we live; ensuring that these changes do not cause future harm.
2. Be a strong voice on behalf of the local people and businesses, representing their views.
3. Provide effective, efficient and accountable local government for the parish supporting community-based activities whilst operating within agreed budgets and complying with current legislation and best practices.
The full Parish Plan for 2024/25 can be found under the Previous Meetings banner > Annual Report > Parish Plan.
Your Councillors
The Council has nine councillors. (Their contact details, register of interests and specific responsibilities for 2023-24 can be viewed by clicking on the referenced nine councillors.)
The Council’s paid clerk is Ruth Swales.
Council Meetings
Our meetings are held in the Village Institute at 7pm on the first Thursday in February, April, August, October and December. The Annual meeting of the Council is held on a Thursday in May.
Dates for our meetings in 2024/25 are: 9 May, 1 August, 3 October, 12 December, 6 February 2025 and 3 April 2025.
All our meetings are open to the public.
Our Responsibilities
We own and administer the village green (which we maintain with the benefit of a Natural England Higher Level Stewardship Scheme for which we are paid a grant). We maintain and pay for the village playground, for street lighting and public benches. We have a range of statutory powers including the right to raise a precept (our precept forms part of the council tax which is collected by North Yorkshire Council) to pay for what we provide.
Police and Community Action:
There are several schemes which are designed to deal with problems in the community. We support Neighbourhood Watch and Ringmaster.
Planning Matters:
All planning applications receive close attention from the Parish Council although our influence on the Planning Authority is slight. However, Selby DC has confirmed that our Village Design Statement has been adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document. It is also referred to in Policy SP4 (c) of Selby District Core Strategy and thus affects developments within the village. The Conservation Area Advisory Committee having been disbanded, we are also left having to check all planning applications within the Stillingfleet Conservation Area to ensure that they comply with conservation policy.
Risk Assessment:
The Parish Council has to carry public liability insurance. The Council undertakes an annual risk assessment of all the Council’s assets and undertakes a thorough assessment of all its potential risks in order to manage them appropriately.
https://www.stillingfleetparishcouncil.org/risk-assessment-and-management-2024-25/risk-assessment-managment-2024-25/
However it would be appreciated if all residents could report any potential problems and dangers to the Parish Council.
Flooding:
Events in 2015 have reminded us all that flooding is a live issue in Stillingfleet. As advised in our Flood Policy, our designated flood warden is Richard Daniel (tel: 07808 927578). In the event of serious flooding in future please contact Councillor Richard Daniel.
The Church:
Although the Parish Council is not responsible for the administration of the Church (that is the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council) the Parish Council’s charity fund does contribute to the cost of upkeep of the churchyard and cemetery as we all benefit from having such a fine example of Norman architecture at the heart of our village.