About The Council
Parish and Town Councils (known collectively as Local Councils) are the first tier of local government and the closest to the community they serve. A Town Council is a parish council which has resolved to call itself a Town Council. There are some 8,500 Parish and Town Councils in England. As a tier of local government they are elected bodies, with discretionary powers and rights laid down by Parliament to represent their communities and provide services for them. All local councils are constituted in the same way with councillors elected by the local residents on the electoral register for the area of the parish. The parish councillors do not receive a salary for being on the council, but most parishes have a paid parish clerk. Larger parishes may have other paid employees. In the case of Tregony with Cuby Parish Council, there are 10 councillors who were elected at the first elections for this parish on 6 May 2021. There is one paid employee, the parish clerk who is the official point of contact for the parish. However, any resident can contact one of the parish councillors to discuss any issues of concern. The councillor may be able to answer the resident’s queries or he/she may refer the matter to the parish council more formally. Parish councillors do not have any power individually to make decisions for the council. Parish council decisions are decided by resolution within the council meetings or within its formal committee meetings. Tregony with Cuby has one formal committee, the Cemeteries and Burials Committee. The clerk has limited delegated powers to act for the parish council on matters that do not come to a parish council meeting.
A local Council must act within the law. It can only spend, raise or use money if it has a statutory power to do so, otherwise it acts ultra vires (beyond its powers). Local Councils have a wide range of powers under different acts of Parliament. Most of these powers are discretionary, i.e. the Council may do something, rather than it must do something. The exercise of these powers may be subject to various consents, from, for example, the owner of land or another public body such as the highways authority. Local Councils act as a sounding board for local opinion and have important rights of consultation.
Tregony with Cuby Parish Council qualifies to exercise the General power of competence and resolved to do so at its meeting on 13 December 2021.
A Local Council has the unfettered right to raise money by precept (a mandatory demand) on the district or unitary council within whose area the parish is situated, in this case Cornwall Council. The precept required by the Local Council is then collected by Cornwall Council as part of the council tax levied on tax payers in that parish.
The range of services and amenities provided by Local Councils varies enormously. Many provide public seats and shelters, litter bins and notice boards. Some provide recreation grounds, public halls, cemeteries, allotments and swimming pools. All play an important role in maintaining and improving local services and facilities, supporting local voluntary organisations and activities and influencing and lobbying on local development.
For more information about the services provided by Tregony with Cuby Parish Council, see Services.
Tregony with Cuby Parish Council was formally brought into existence by a Reorganisation Order published and sealed by Cornwall Council. See Reorganisation Order
See TWC parish map.
The first formal meeting, the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council, was held on 18 May 2021. See Meetings