It is always a pleasure to attend Parish Council meetings. Some are busier than others. Some have some great characters on the council or attending as parishioners. What is clear is that Parish Councillors are hard working, take their responsibilities seriously and often have to take difficult decisions that please some and annoy others. And ……… they are unpaid volunteers who give up significant amounts of their time for the benefit of their communities.

On Tuesday I attended Kedington Parish Council. This is well run and chaired brilliantly ( I wouldn’t dare say differently!!! ). They managed to cover a huge range of issues in a timely fashion whilst still managing to debate the necessary points. Two new councillors were co-opted onto the council and it was fantastic to see them both get stuck in right away. It feels like Kedington is in safe hands.

Likewise I attend Clare Town Council on Thursday. Again it was a full agenda which covered a range of topics including planning applications. There seemed to be a lot of applications to fell or manage trees. The Town Council is keen to preserve trees and if not possible seeks to have new ones planted. I am pleased to be on the working party for the platinum Jubilee celebrations next year. I was also roped in to help out at the Clare Christmas Fayre in November.

In recent years the role of Parish Clerks has been highly professionalised. They are paid, trained and work to a common format. All the Parish Councils I attend have brilliant Clerks who keep everyone on the right side of the regulations and provide effective professional support to the Chairs.

Please value your parish councillors and clerks they are an asset to your communities.