Frampton Cotterell Parish Council office is located at the Brockeridge Centre, Woodend Road; the office is open from 9pm – 2pm Monday to Friday. Note we are temporarily closed to the public due to COVID-19.
Frampton Cotterell Parish Council is the tier of local government closest to the community. It represents the interests of the people of the parish with South Gloucestershire Council and central government.
Your Parish Council is responsible for managing a range of services and facilities for the benefit of the local community, such as bins, grass cutting, sports facility management, Christmas lights and community projects.
Getting involved
Did you know you can contact us to suggest changes to the parish? Contact the clerk with your ideas. You can also attend any public Parish Council meetings to voice your concerns, raise your ideas of to keep up to date with current affairs.
You can apply for grants from your Parish Council. We have a dedicated grants page for the community.
We currently have a few vacancies for Parish Councillors, so if you are keen to make a change in the community and get involved with some exciting projects, then get in touch with an application form. You do not need any previous experience to become a councillor and we have councillors from a variety of backgrounds.
If you would like to get involved without becoming a councillor, we welcome your input! You can volunteer on various community projects, such as Refill Frampton Cotterell and climate and nature projects. Get in touch!
How are Parish Councils funded?
Parish councils are funded principally by an annual precept. Income and expenditure for the next financial year are calculated in the form of estimates. The net amount (the precept) is added to council tax, collected by the district council and paid to parishes in two six-monthly instalments. Parish councils can apply for other funding such as grant and funding awards, but they do not receive funds direct from central government, as principal authorities do.
Parish Council Wards
The parish is divided into three wards, Central, East and West. Each ward elects 5 Councillors to serve on the Parish Council for a period of four years. Elections are held at the same time as the elections to South Gloucestershire District Council in May 2015, 2019 etc. If a vacancy arises during the term of a council, e.g. due to a resignation, then a replacement will be sought either by election if called for by parishioners or by co-option by existing council members.
Parish Map
Below is an updated map of the parish boundaries, cycle routes, byways, footpaths and bridle paths. You can use this to aid in your exploration of the parish, as well as visiting our local walks page!
Roles and Responsibilities of Councillors and the Clerk
The Clerk is employed by the Council to provide administrative support for the Council’s activities. Any other staff, although employed by the Council, answer to the Clerk who is their manager and is responsible for their performance. The Clerk’s primary responsibility is to advise the Council on whether its decisions are lawful and to recommend ways in which decisions can be implemented. To help with this, the Clerk can be asked to research topics of concern to the Council and provide unbiased information to help the Council to make appropriate choices. The Clerk has a wide range of other responsibilities which are set out in his/her job description. The Clerk must recognise that the Council is responsible for all decisions and that he/she takes instructions from the Council as a body. The Clerk is not answerable to any individual Councillor – not even the Chairman. The Council must be confident that the Clerk is, at all times, independent, objective and professional. The Clerk is also the Proper Officer which is a title used in statute.
Parish Councillors are elected by the electors of the Parish (section 16 (2) of the Local Government Act 1972) every four years. A Councillor may also be returned by bye-election, co-option, or appointment by the district council or by return after a successful election petition. All Councillors are required to complete a declaration of Acceptance of Office and to provide a written undertaking that they accept the Council’s Code of Conduct. Individual Councillors work together to serve the community and to help the Council to make decisions on behalf of the local community.
Councillors contribute to the work of the council by suggesting ideas, engaging in constructive debate and by responding to the needs and views of the community representing their constituents. Councillors comment on proposals to ensure the best outcome and vote to enable the Council to make decisions. Councillors must accept the decisions of the Council as a whole even if they do not agree with it. In such circumstances a Councillor may ask for a vote against a Resolution to be recorded. Councillors are required to behave in an ethical way and to declare an interest when necessary.
Code of Conduct. Under the Localism Act 2011, and the relevant authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests -DPI) Regulation 2012, all Councillors are required to register DPI. Councillors’ DPI are registered with South Gloucestershire Council.
The Chairman is elected by the members of the Council at the Annual Council Meeting and serves for twelve months (Section 15 (1) of the Local Government act 1972). The Chairman’s main role is to run Council meetings. S/he can suggest the content and design of the agenda, but as legal signatory, the Clerk has the final say.
The Chairman is responsible for ensuring that effective and lawful decisions are taken at meetings of the Council and, assisted by the Clerk, guides activities by managing the meetings of the Council. The Chairman is responsible for involving all Councillors at meetings and ensuring that Councillors keep to the point. The Chairman summarises the debate and facilitates the making of clear Resolutions and is responsible for keeping discussions moving so that the meeting is not too long.
The Chairman has a casting vote. His/her first vote is a personal vote as a member of the Council. If there is a tied vote, the Chairman can have a second, casting vote. The Chairman will often be the public face of the Council and will represent the Council at official events. S/he may be asked to speak on behalf of the Council and, in such circumstances, should only expresses the agreed views of the Council and not his/her personal views. The Chairman cannot legally make a decision on behalf of the Council.
The Council. The Local Government Act of 1894 created civil parish councils effectively excluding the church from local government. Local government was further reformed in 1974 following the Local Government Act of 1972 with the result that parish councils had more freedom to operate without consents from central government.
A parish council is a body corporate (section 14 (3) of the Local Government Act 1972), which means that it is an “it” in law and that the decisions it takes are the responsibility of the Council as a whole. The Council represents and serves the whole community.
The Council is responsible for the services it provides. It establishes policies for action and decides how money will be raised and spent on behalf of the community. It is responsible for spending public money lawfully and achieving the best value for money. Except in certain circumstances (Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960) Council meetings are open to the public.
The Council as a body decides whether to work in partnership with other organisations and it often serves (through representatives) on other bodies. An individual Councillor (including the Chairman) cannot make a decision on behalf of the Council so when working in partnership,
Councillors must always remember that they represent the Council as a corporate body.
