Council FAQ
This section has Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the duties
and responsibilities of the Town Council.
What is a parish?
What is a Town Council?
What duties and responsibilities do
town councils have?
How much money does the council get?
What does Saxmundham Town Council do?
What else does the Council do?
What
is a parish?
A parish is either an Ecclesiastical Parish centred on the Anglican
church or a Civil Parish. Saxmundham is a Civil Parish and has a
Town Council to run its affairs according to its legal duties and
responsibilities. Saxmundham has over 2,600 electors in a total
population of over 4000.
What is a Town
Council?
A town council is a small local authority and its councillors are
elected every four years. Each year the councillors choose a chairman
from amongst their number. There are 14 councillors on the Town
Council. Saxmundham does not have a mayor, the leader of the Saxmundham
Town Council is called a 'Chairman'. The councillors are all unpaid
volunteers who operate on a non-party political basis. The council
employs a Town Clerk to carry out administrative duties and provide
a contact person for the public.
What duties
and responsibilities do town councils have?
Town councils have a number of formal duties, defined by various
acts of parliament including the Local Government Act (1972) and
various Public Health acts. In practice, the Town council looks
after many things in Saxmundham that improve the facilities and
environment for its residents and businesses.
How much money does
the council get?
Saxmundham Town Council gets no grants from central government but
it does get a small part of the Council Tax that you pay to the
district council. For the financial year 2006-07 the council received
£34,000. The accounts are strictly audited every year.
What does Saxmundham
Town Council do?
The council has a wide range of duties and responsibilities, many
of them regarding the general upkeep of the town's amenities and
the representation of the town and its residents at higher levels
of local government. We look after the Memorial Field on Rendham
Road, and the Chantry Road Play Area. We have a footpaths officer
who walks the footpaths in the town every year to keep an eye on
rights of way and refer any problems to Suffolk County Council.
We provide public seats. We are trustees of the Market Hall, which
is available for public meetings, functions, and is available for
hire. The Seaman Avenue Playground is managed for us by SCDC. The
Town council also has several sub-committees that look after various
aspects of the town.
The Town council supports a wide range of local organisations with
small annual grants and our councillors represent the Town Council
on the following bodies:
• Suffolk Coastal Single
Regeneration Budget
• Anglia in Bloom
• Sizewell Local Liaison
Committee
• Saxmundham Business
Association
• Saxmundham Charities
• East Suffolk Travellers
Association
• CYDS (Can You Do Something,
Leiston youth group)
• Town Centre Regeneration
Group
• Suffolk Association
of Local Councils
• Crime and Disorder
Reduction Partnership
• Community Action Plan
What else does the
Council do?
The council represents the town and the views of its residents to
the Suffolk Coastal District Council, Suffolk County Council and
other official bodies to do with transport, planning and housing.
The council is entitled to be consulted on planning applications
and are often consulted on such things as schools and roads.
Please contact the Town Clerk for
further information about the Town Council. Or read more about
the council.
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