Parish Cake Autumn 2017

update
News and views from Cranbrook
& Sissinghurst Parish Council,
compiled by Kim Fletcher
What is a Parish Council
for and How Does it Work?
THE CRANBROOK and
Sissinghurst Parish Council is
the first level of getting things
done in the community. Elected
councillors take decisions that
affect everyone’s lives in a
small way.
Tunbridge Wells Borough
Council (TWBC) makes bigger
decisions, Kent County Council
(KCC) takes bigger ones still,
and eventually the buck stops
with Helen Grant, our member
of parliament.
The ‘glue’ that makes all this
happen is the work of the
committees in the parish
council, the monthly parish
meeting, and the clerks who
sit in the Weald Information
Centre, at the bottom of the
church steps.
PARISH COUNCIL
There are 15 elected members
of our parish council, who are
elected for four years, including
chairman Cllr. Bridget Veitch.
The parish council has a
monthly meeting to which
all members of the parish are
welcome. Reports are given
from the various committees
and a vote taken on their
decisions to make them
binding and for your precept
money to be spent. Questions
from members of the parish
can be asked at the end of the
meeting.
We have the following
committees:
Planning and Preservation –
chaired by Cllr. Alison Bunyan
This committee meets every
fortnight to give feedback to
TWBC on the local view on
any planning applications. As
Cranbrook and Sissinghurst
have so many listed buildings,
the planning committee
work with local groups and
individuals to try to maintain a
balance between modern living
and the historic character of the
town.
The committee can only advise
the TWBC planning department,
not instruct it.
Environmental Management
– chaired by Cllr. Andy
Fairweather
This committee looks after
playground equipment, the
allotments, the car parks and
street lights. The countryside
in the parish is an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty
(AONB) so it balances the
modern way of living with the
rural nature of the parish
Burial Grounds and Properties
– chaired by Cllr. Brian
Clifford
The parish own buildings
and land so this committee
looks after the cemeteries,
grass cutting, grave allocation
and properties such as the
Vestry Hall. It ensures that
maintenance is done in a timely
manner and that the buildings
are safe.
Policy and Resources
– chaired by Cllr. Peter
Goodchild
Each sub committee has a
chairman and they all sit on
this committee with the parish
council chairman, deputy and
finance member.
Members ensure the left and
right hands know what is going
on. It is this committee that
works out finances and give the
sub committees their budgets
for the year. Each sub committee
has a five year forward plan for
expenditure, so we put money
aside to pay for major projects
which may occur in the future,
such as painting the outside
of the Vestry Hall or renewing
some play equipment (each
piece costs about £6,000).
A reserve is also held for
emergencies.
Policy and Resources also looks
after our most valuable assets,
the parish clerks, Lori and Laura.
The clerks act as the ‘do-ers’ for
the parish – they report issues
to TWBC, contact suppliers
and contractors, and act as the
front line in communication
for parishioners. They work
alongside Lynn from Tunbridge
Wells in the Weald Information
Centre, and if one doesn’t know
the answer, one of the others
probably does!
Neighbourhood Development
Plan (NDP) – chaired by Cllr.
Nancy Warne
The Parish Council is
responsible for the delivery
of the NDP. Led by Cllr. Nancy
Warne, the NDP Steering Group
is made up of councillors
and non-councillors.
Through public engagement
events and questionnaires,
parishioners are helping to
create a shared vision for
the future development
of the parish. Details of
how to get involved can be
found on the website www.
cranbrookandsissinghurstndp.
co.uk
The final plan will include a set
of policies specific to the parish,
against which future planning
decisions will be determined.
Parishioners get to vote on the
plan in a referendum, which
will take place in late 2018/
early 2019.
40 Parish Cake • Autumn 2017