Parish Council

Cockshutt-cum-Petton Parish Council serves the villages and hamlets around Cockshutt and Petton and is currently represented by eight parish councillors. The villages are part of a wider farming community and are situated close to Ellesmere which boasts many tourist attractions.

Your Parish Councillors are:

Register of Members Interests

Our Representatives on Other Groups

Local Joint Committee – TBC
Shropshire Association of Local Councils – Cllr. P. Griffiths
Emergency Planning – Cllr. P. Inglis
Cockshutt Millennium Hall Management Committee – Cllr. Ms. J. Harrison  
Wood Lane Quarry Liaison Group –  Cllr. S. Lewis
Helicopter Noise Liaison Group – Cllr. I. Webb  

Your Shropshire Councillor is Brian Williams

Your Member of Parliament is Helen Morgan

ABOUT PARISH COUNCILS
A Parish Council represents and serves the whole community.  Most communities are made up of many smaller communities, often with different interests, a council’s duty is to serve them all.  A council balances the needs of different elements of the community to get the best results.

Each Parish Council is made up of individual Councillors who contribute to the work of the whole Council  by:

• suggesting ideas
• engaging in constructive debate
• responding to the needs and views of the community
• representing their constituents
• behaving in an ethical way and being open about interests
• commenting on proposals to ensure the best outcome
• voting – to enable the council to make decisions

All Councillors agree to abide by the Code of Conduct

Every Parish Council has a Clerk, often referred to as the Parish Clerk. The common understanding is that the Clerk organises meetings, takes minutes and sends letters.  Over the years as the role and responsibilities of the parish council has changed, so has the role and responsibilities of the Clerk.

The Clerk’s overall responsibility is to carry out the policy decisions of the Council.  He is akin to the chief executive of a company, in that he is the person that has overall responsibility for the administration and procedural aspects of the Council. The Clerk is responsible for seeing the business of the Council runs smoothly and efficiently and is conducted in accordance with the law.  Normally, too, he is responsible for ensuring the Council’s financial transactions are properly authorised and recorded.  Most Clerks, as sole council employees, also have to perform the clerical tasks without which the council’s business cannot properly be carried out.

So today, the skills of a Clerk have to be wide and professional – not an easy task!