The next Parish Council meeting will be held upstairs in the Village Hall on
Tuesday 24th August at 7pm.
Parishoners are most welcome to ask questions or raise concerns at the start of the meeting.
Parish Council meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
The minutes of Parish Council meetings are available for publication once they have been accepted as a true record of proceedings at the following meeting, so the latest entry relates to the meeting before last.
To read the minutes you will need Adobe Acrobat reader software. Most computers will have this already loaded, but if you have problems you can download the latest version for free by following this link: -
Minutes are published below, latest entries at the top.
2010 04 Extra-Ordinary Mtg Play Area.pdf
The Parish Council has published the results of the resident's survey, commissioned in response to concerns about various aspects of the newly re-opened play area.
You can read or download the full report here: -
Keble Park Play Area Survey Report.pdf
The newly extended and refurbished Village Hall was officially opened on
The immediate impact was the newly enlarged entrance hall which now allows visitors room to congregate before making their way to the meeting or event they are planning to attend. The overall colour scheme was complimented upon and the floor tiles greatly admired.
The new lift was used several times on the day by young and old and was deemed a success in opening up the whole hall to everyone who visited.
The new home for the Community Archive on the first floor was opened by the Local History Group and from the number of people making enquiries it appears the group may be growing in its new home!
The 30ft by 5ft Mural on display in the upstairs meeting room was a great attraction with everyone admiring the drawings of local buildings and trying to recognise local individuals. I've stood and looked at it several times and there is always something new to be seen.
The Main Hall was visited by everyone and all appeared to appreciate the overall design, colour scheme, new curtains and new integral lighting and heating system.
Youth workers from City of
Overall, the day was a great success and the following was written by someone in a comments book provided on the day:-
"Amazing! Lucky Bishopthorpe to have such a lovely hall and bunch of hard working people who made it happen. A real testimony to the Community Spirit of the village"
I don't know who wrote it but Thank You - it makes all the effort well worth while!
Stewart Harrison
Chairman - Bishopthorpe Parish Council
The start time of this month's Parish Council Meeting on Tuesday 22nd September has been brought forward to 6:30pm, from it's usual start time of 7:00pm.
This is to give extra time for discussion of recent events with local residents and the Police.
Remember that the meetings are now back in their normal home, upstairs in the Village Hall.
What does the Parish Council do?
The parish council meets regularly to discuss issues of interest to the parish. It has powers relating to planning, provision of recreational facilities, halls, crime prevention, community transport, public toilets, tourism, allotments, footpaths and commons.
We are a team of ten elected members of the Parish. The Council meets at 7pm on the fourth Tuesday of each month when possible, usually in the Village Hall. At the beginning of each meeting villagers can ask questions and put forward ideas. The meeting itself is open to the public but the public has no right to speak (although heckling is permitted). The agenda is posted on the Parish Council notice board in the Library window a few days before each meeting.
Every May we elect the chairman or woman and the vice-chair and then decide on which of the committees each councillor wishes to serve. These are Village Hall, Sports Field and Pavilion, Field 84 Riverside and Footpaths, Youth Support, Allotments, Finance, Planning and Highways, and Police Liaison. We have representatives on the Infant and Junior Schools Governor Groups, the Millennium Trust, Ainstey Parishes Working Group and York Local Councils Association. Each councillor usually sits on two of the committees. See the Sub-Committees page for who is on which committee at the moment.
What are our responsibilities?
We are a village government and the closest form of government to you the people who live in the village. We undertake to manage the village in the way the Local Government Act has laid down. Each year we have to set the Precept, which means deciding the amount of money needed to carry out the improvements from which the village will benefit. It's collected from you as part of the council tax.
Read on for a more in-depth piece on Parish Councils in general...
