- Allotments - we manage 135 plots at the Lower Road Site & maintain the general areas/Boundaries
- Play areas - we maintain the Green Gym
- Funding – we apply for funding also self-fund additional facilities / Services for the Community.
- Rec Ground - Toilets, we pay for them to be opened/shut and cleaned.
- Car parks - we maintain, pay rates/lights and keep Pooles Lane car park “Free” to the public.
- Street Lights - we maintain and pay the electricity for all the Street Lights in un-adopted Roads.
- Public Footpaths - we maintain some of the footpaths (FP 5 / FP 12 and Suzanne’s Field)- (see our website for further details). We have just launched a project to save the eroding River footpath and to try and get a permissive footpath so walkers can go from the Rose Garden to the Dome.
- Kendal Park - we lease off Rochford District Council and maintain the Reserve, benches, signs and pay for the bins to be emptied.
- Rose Garden - we lease off Essex & Suffolk and maintain it /benches.
- Bus shelters, we pay for and maintain all the Bus Shelters in Hullbridge.
- Teen Shelter/bin, we maintain it.
- War Memorial / Parish Signs / Noticeboards – we maintain them.
- Open Spaces / some Grass verges / Benches– The Dome, War Memorial near Watery Lane, opposite the Allotments on Lower Road and the seating area outside Hullbridge Gardens Association – we maintain, also most of the benches in the Village.
- Hanging Baskets – we pay for and maintain the Annual hanging baskets in Ferry Road, flowers at the Parish Office, War Memorial, around the trees in Ferry Road, the boat in Pooles Lane and Village Sign near the Allotments.
- Christmas Fayre – we organise & pay for this Annual Event -HCA kindly organises Santa’s Grotto.
- Christmas Parcels – we donate over 160 parcels to residents who are over 80 years old.
- Crime reduction measures – we pay for and maintain the CCTV at Pooles Lane car park and Parish Office.
- Parish Office, we provide an information service to the Community and answer queries, forward complaints onto third parties i.e. Essex County Council Highways.
- Planning – we are a Consultee and submit our observations to Rochford District Council.
- Consultee – we reply to many consultations on local matters also District, County and National matters.
- Other Sectors/Organisations/Authorities – we work closely with them to make sure Hullbridge is included in new services, youth – community engagement and other partnerships / projects.
- Communication – we communicate with Residents, through our Parish Council Meetings, Councillor Surgeries, Parish Website, Facebook Page, Parish Office, Newsletters via Ripples, Noticeboards and our Annual Report.
- Represent the Community, we represent this Community, make sure residents are heard and their comments are forwarded onto the relevant organisation.
- Improvements to the Village / Quality of Life, we strive to make Hullbridge the best place to live.
There are over 8,700 Parish and Town Councils representing around 16 million people across England. They form the most local level of government and cover many rural and urban areas. Hullbridge Parish Council is part of Rochford District Council there are 14 Town/ Parish within the District.
Not a great deal. They both have the same powers and can provide the same services. The only difference is that a Town Council has decided that it should be known as a Town Council instead of a Parish Council, and has a Mayor.
A Parish or Town Council has an overall responsibility for the well-being of its local community. Its work falls into three main categories:
- Representing the local community
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Delivering services to meet local needs
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Striving to improve quality of life in the parish
A Parish Council might provide and/or maintain some of the following services:
- Allotments
- Play areas
- Car Parks
- Community Transport Schemes
- Footpaths
- Bridleways
- Bus Shelters
- Commons
- Crime Reduction Measures
- Leisure Facilities
It can also work with Essex County Council and Rochford District Council for other services, for example:
- Litter Bins
- Local Youth Projects
- Open Spaces
- Public Toilets
- Planning
- Street Cleaning
- Street Lighting
- Tourism Activities
- Traffic Calming Measures
- Village Greens
The Parish Council is made up of a number of councillors who meet regularly to make decisions on the work and direction of the council. As an elected body, the Parish Council is an “it” and, through its councillors, is responsible to the people it represents – that’s the local community.
Hullbridge Parish Council consists of Thirteen Councillors.
Attending a council meeting is the best way to find out what it does. Have a look at the other pages on this website to see what the Parish Council has been dealing with recently.
Hullbridge Parish Council meets on the 2nd Monday of each month except August (Recess), we have 11 meetings a year.
Each year the Parish Council asks for a sum of money, called a ‘precept’, which is collected through your council tax. This money is used by the Parish Council to improve facilities and services for local people and run the Council. Parish Councils can also apply for grants and loans.
If the parish is divided into wards an election is held in each ward, the same way elections are held in district wards and in county electoral divisions. If the parish doesn’t have wards there is just a single parish election. Most parish elections are on the same cycle, with elections in 2007, 2011, 2015, and so on.
Parish or Town councillors are elected to represent a geographical area known as a ward or – mainly in smaller parishes– the Parish or Town Council area as a whole. They are elected by people who live in the area.
Councillors have three main areas of work:
- Decision-making: through attending meetings and committees with other elected members, councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered and what policies should be implemented;
- Monitoring: councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working;
- Getting involved locally: as local representatives, councillors have responsibilities towards their parishioners and local organisations. This often depends on what the councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available.
The day-to-day work of a councillor may include:
- Going to meetings of local organisations
- Going to meetings of bodies that affect the wider community, such as the police, the Highways Authority, schools and colleges
- Bringing parishioners concerns to the attention of the council
As a councillor you can become a voice for your community and affect real change. It helps if you're a "people person" who enjoys talking to other residents but, more importantly, you need to have the concerns and best interests of the parish as a whole at heart. Councillors are community leaders and should represent the aspirations of the public that they serve.
Parish Councils are the most local part of our democratic system and are closest to the public. Why don’t you stand for your local Parish Council and see what difference you can make to your local community?
On average, less than a couple of hours a week. Obviously there are some councillors who spend more time than this – and some less, but in the main, being a parish councillor is an enjoyable way of contributing to your community and helping to make it a better place to live and work. Council meetings are always held in the evening – as are most meetings of the other groups which councillors attend on the Council’s behalf.
Talking and listening to your fellow parishioners can be done at any time but you must be able to spend a couple of hours every Second Monday of the Month (excluding August as recess ) (in the evening 7.30-9.30pm) attending the Council meeting.
Most people are. However there are a few basic rules. You have to be:
- A British citizen, or a citizen of the Commonwealth or the European Union, and
- 18 years or older on the day you become nominated for election, and
- Live or work in or near the parish, within 3 miles
You cannot stand for election if you:
- Are the subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or interim order
- Have, within five years before the day of the election, been convicted in the United Kingdom of any offence and have had a prison sentence (whether suspended or not) for a period of over three months without the option of a fine.
There are also some other disqualifications relating to candidacy, but they are too complex to outline here.