Marshchapel Parish Council is a non political body serving the Parishioners of Marshchapel.
The Parish Council is made up of eight Councillors, all unpaid volunteers, some of whom hold down busy full time jobs as well as finding the time to be Parish Councillors. The council is supported by the Parish Clerk who is a paid, part-time employee and is also the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO).
Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month (except August) and start at 7:30pm in the Meeting Room at the back of the Village Hall. If a meeting is changed from the second Tuesday, this is generally agreed at the meeting before so that ample notice is given. The Village Hall Meeting Room has been specially built for the Parish Council, but is available for hire through the Village Hall when not in use by the Parish Council.
Members of the public are always welcome and are given the opportunity to speak at the beginning of the meeting if there is anything in particular they wish to bring to the attention of the Council. If you have an item you would like to discuss, then please let the Clerk know well in advance of the meeting so that it can be put on the Agenda.
We hold an Annual Parish Meeting every year in May where the Chair gives a report on the past year and addresses any issues Parishioners may have. Our finances are audited every year by internal and external auditors and members of the public are given the opportunity to inspect the accounts; documents are displayed on this website for review.
We belong to the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils which enables us to get expert advice when we need it and also provides training opportunities for all Councillors.
We administer the Marshchapel Combined Trust which you can read about on this web site. We are responsible for Marshchapel Playing Field which was purchased in the 1980's in conjunction with Lincolnshire County Council and Marshchapel Primary School on a 'Chance to Share' scheme. We are also the Custodians of Marshchapel Village Hall which is currently run by a separate Committee.
Six Councillors have currently been in office since 2015, although some have served much longer than that; our newest member joined us in October 2019. If we have any vacancies, there is shown on the Parish Council Vacancies page which is accessed from the main Homepage.
Your Parish Council is the ‘local’ contact between the community of Marshchapel and the East Lindsey District Council and the Lincolnshire County Council. We deal with matters as diverse as planning applications to public footpaths and are consulted on a wide variety of matters and asked for opinions and comments. The ultimate decision on planning matters rests with the District Council, although our views are taken into consideration.
A precept is set once a year, which raises funds via the Council Tax, for use in the village. This supports projects such as the Playing Field, Village Hall, War Memorial maintenance and the Churchyard, amongst many others.
From time to time a casual vacancy may occur on the Council, this will be advertised on the notice board and on this website, and residents will have the opportunity to put themselves forward for co-option. Alternatively residents have the opportunity to be elected to the Parish Council every four years.