What We Do?

The Sandon Parish Council is the first tier of local government – and is closest to the Sandon Parish community. In line with some 8500 similar Parish Councils in England, the Sandon Parish Council is an elected body with discretionary powers and rights laid down by Parliament to represent the community and provide services for them. It consists of a Parish Clerk, elected Councillors and a Chairman who is also an elected Councillor. The Council has the absolute right to raise money by precept (a mandatory demand) on the City Council. This precept is then collected by the City Council as part of the Council Tax charged to tax payers in the Parish.

The range of services and amenities provided by the Sandon Parish Council are many and varied. It makes provision for allotments, seats, bus shelters, litter bins to mention a few. It also concerns itself with crime prevention, recreational facilities, maintenance of public facilities, foot paths and so on. Of course, the Sandon Parish Council can only act within the law. It can only raise money or spend money within its statutory power or it could be accused of acting ultra vires (beyond its powers).

However, most importantly, the Sandon Parish Council acts as a sounding board for local opinion and has important rights of consultation. The City Council is obliged by law to consult with the Sandon Parish Council on changes, developments and other issues affecting the Sandon Parish.

To manage these services and to deal with new issues, the Sandon Parish Council meets every month – and these meetings are public. Any resident of the Parish can attend and, through the Chairman, can raise any matters of interest or concern to the Parish community. Therefore, it is essential to have good communications and, to this end, the Sandon Parish Council’s web site, news letters, notice board (village hall) and public meetings are there to engage with all Parish residents.

We also have an email forum for residents to raise any points or queries relating to the parish to members of the council and the clerk. See the Email Forum page.

Both Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council have very informative websites containing such information as council services, planning, leisure, and details of all the forthcoming council meetings and their agendas. Click on the links below to access either of these websites:

www.chelmsford.gov.uk
www.essex.gov.uk

Our neighbouring parishes also have websites which give local information – the links below will take you to their sites:

www.littlebaddow.org.uk
www.danbury-essex.gov.uk
www.greatbaddowparishcouncil.co.uk