WHAT IS A PARISH COUNCIL AND WHAT IS ITS FUNCTION?
A Parish Council is a local authority comprising Councillors who are elected for four years at a time. There are currently 35 Parish Councils in the borough of Maidstone. Parish Councils have many powers to provide and maintain certain facilities within their Parish. These facilities can include playing fields, leisure facilities, village greens and village halls. They can also maintain rights of way, bus shelters, public seats, allotments, cemeteries and some street lighting. They can also contribute to joint projects within the area with other authorities.

Parish Councils play a vital part in obtaining and representing local views on various issues and as a statutory body they are consulted by other public authorities such as Borough Councils, County Councils, Health Authorities and Government Departments on specific issues affecting their Parish. They have a legal right to be consulted on planning applications and are consulted on schools and highway matters.Decisions by Parish Councils are taken by the elected Councillors, meetings are usually monthly and are open to the public.

Each Parish Council appoints a Clerk to deal with correspondence and, report to and take minutes of its meetings undertake other duties on its behalf. To raise money, Parish Council issues a precept, which is added to the Council Tax bills of residents within the Parish. The Parish Council decides how much money it will spend each year and therefore how much it will ask each Council Taxpayer to contribute.

OVERVIEW OF DETLING PARISH COUNCIL
The Detling Parish Council represents an electorate of 777 people (323 houses).

The Parish Council is composed of seven councillors with elections held every four years, the next election being on 1sy May 2007. We meet in the commitee Room of the Detling Village Hall at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of each month except January and August.

All meetings are open to the public and press and the council has benfited from a good level of support and attendance.

The parish has a permanent Planning Sub-Commitee, which meets at 7pm, prior to each main Council meeting.

The Council is an equal opportunities employer with one part-time employee, our parish clerk, Sherrie Babington. Sherrie has now been in the post since June 1998, working from home on behalf of the Parish. We share her services with the Parishes of Thurnham, Hoo and Leeds.

PARISH COUNCIL SUB-COMMITEE - PLANNING
This sub-commitee has three members and is currently chaired by the vice-chairman of the Parish Council. Their role is to review all applications from within the Parish, make comments and to recommend a planning decision to the main council for the Parish's reply to the relevant Planning Authority, be it Maidstone Borough or Kent County council who then make the final decision.

Planning applications of particular importance or sensitivity can be referred to the main council for full deliberation.

If you wish to ask the parish council or planning sub-commitee a question then please use our online feedback form.