What is a Parish Council
A Parish Council is a group of local people that makes decisions on behalf of the area. It is the level of government closest to the community with the District Council immediately above it. The Parish Council receives funding annually from the taxes that your guardians pay.
What does a Parish Council do?
Metheringham Parish Council consists of up to 13 councillors. The duties are varied as the Council is responsible for many aspects of the village. These include play areas, dog bins and litter bins, seats, public toilets, noticeboards, the war memorial and allotments. The Council also look after some land and buildings around the village and run, or help run, some events during the year. They also make decisions on things that affect the community such as planning and crime prevention.
History of Parish Councils
England started off being run by the churches. The vicar and a few important people in the local area became known as a 'vestry council' after the vestry room in the church where they met. They looked after church business, the business of people living near the church and poor people under the 'Poor Laws'.
In 1894 the Local Government Act joined all these small vestry councils together and called them parish councils. The parish councils were responsible for a geographical area and several parish councils were joined together to make a District Council. Rules were put in place so that all councils had to do things the same way, whether they were looking after public health, burials or water supplies.