Shenley Parish Council
The Parish Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month (except August), at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. The public is welcome to attend. There is a short session at the beginning of each meeting when members of the public may ask questions or raise issues of concern.
You can also read documents related to the work of the Parish Council on this website. The Parish Plan, adopted by the Council in 2005, can be seen by clicking here. Click here for the Chairman's report on last month's meeting. The minutes of the Parish Council are confirmed at the next Parish Council meeting. You can read the most recent confirmed minutes by clicking here. The minutes of the annual Finance & Budget Committee are here. Each year, the Council holds a Parish Meeting, at which the Chairman reports on the previous 12 months, and answers questions from residents. You can read the draft minutes of the most recent meeting by clicking here.
The Clerk to the Parish Council is John Marks, who can be contacted on 01438 869110 or by e-mail at shenley.parish.council@btopenworld.com. He holds a monthly surgery from 2.30 to 4.30 pm on the day of the Parish Council meeting.
Your Parish Councillors
At the Parish Council meeting in September, Chris Rook was co-opted on to the Parish Council to fill a vacancy.
What the Council does
The Council is funded from a precept on the Council Tax. It uses this money to fund a variety of programmes and projects:
the Council's Community Activities Group works with other volunteers to fund and organise social events for Shenley's senior citizens (including periodic outings) and children (including a Christmas party);
the Council seeks to facilitate healthy outdoor activity by providing and maintaining the Harris Lane playing fields and children's play areas and Green Street allotments, as well as by working with the Countryside Management Service to maintain Shenley's public footpaths;
the Council also strives to make itself more accountable to the residents of Shenley. To this end, it has introduced an opportunity for any resident to speak at the beginning of Parish Council meetings, monthly surgeries at the Village Hall held by the Parish Clerk, John Marks, and a quarterly newsletter (the Link) distributed to all households in the parish;
the Council supports Shenley schools in the provision of swimming lessons for schoolchildren through grants to the Shenley Primary School and Clore Shalom school for coach transport.
In conjunction with councillors representing Shenley on the Hertsmere Borough Council (Rosemary Gilligan and Rodney Saunders) and Hertfordshire County Council, the Parish Council also represents Shenley's interests to a wide variety of public bodies. For example, the Council is consulted by -
Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council on matters such as council facilities, roads, and planning and development. The Council is developing a Parish Plan which will inform its response to consultations, and help the Council respond to the needs of the community. To find out more about this, see the update in Environment News - see the link in the main menu;
the Police Authority on the crime reduction strategy of Hertfordshire Constabulary;
the Countryside Management Authority on the conservation of public footpaths and woodland areas in Shenley;
a wide variety of regulatory bodies on issues of interest to residents, ranging from Ofcom on the retention of public telephone boxes in the village, to Postwatch on access to postal services.