There are currently 6 councillors and our Clerk/RFO who are all local people who want to help and improve our two wonderful villages. We have spaces available and would welcome new members. Please fill in our contact form if you are interested in finding out more about becoming a councillor.
There is a Parish Council meeting every 2 months usually on the last Wednesday of the month. A schedule of the meetings can be found on the homepage. The meetings are held at Great Preston Village Hall. Local residents are welcome to attend the public forum at 19:00 to express any points that they have about the local areas which they would like the Parish Council to address. Please refer to the information provided on this website for details about how to login to any meeting. The minutes from previous meetings are available on the ‘meetings/minutes’ page of this website.
We also have a Facebook page to keep people informed about what is going on locally. In addition, we are committed to producing an annual newsletter, and information is usually posted on the Parish Council notice boards around the villages.
We have a village hall which is available to hire for various functions. We support local events and other projects in the area.
I hope that you will find something of interest on this website! We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world. If you feel you would like to help, or have any comments or questions about the work we do, please get in touch.
Best wishes,
Ann Dickinson
Great & Little Preston Parish Council Chairman
What is a Parish Council?
Parish or Town Councils are an important tier of Government within the UK; a Parish/Town Council is the smallest and most localised tier of local government in the UK and is a properly constituted local authority.
The powers and duties, and the manner in which a Parish Council operates are laid out in local government statute and regulations; Parish Councils operate at a level below national government and also below district and borough councils. Parish & Town Councils are elected and can help on a number of local issues, like planning applications or running local sports grounds and community halls.
The Parish Council has legal responsibilities as an employer, and sometimes as an owner of public land and buildings.
Parish Councils are Statutory Bodies, having powers under a number of different Acts (the Local Government Act 1972, the Public Health Act 1936, etc.). Only a few Councils need to use all their available powers. It is up to each Council to choose what is appropriate for the community they serve.
The Council raises funds by the annual Precept is set in January of each year. The amount required is guided by the setting of the annual budget in the November preceding.
The Parish Council precept is added to the Council Tax bill and collected by *** (on behalf of the Parish Council).
The Council also raises funds through grants from other organisations.
Parish Councillors
We will endeavour to keep the information provided on our own site accurate and up to date.
If you spot any errors or omissions please contact us by email so that we can investigate and correct.