On Sunday 29th March Westonbirt with Lasborough Parish Council held its annual village clean-up, and the councillors were delighted to be joined in their efforts by many residents of all ages, keen to do their bit to keep our community tidy and litter-free.
Parish Councillor Geraldine Shepherd kindly prepared the equipment for the group, organised teams in her usual efficient way, and afterwards removed numerous bags full of litter and various other large discarded items, with the help of one of our obliging local farmers. It was heartening to see that, although we did collect a substantial pile of litter, it was not as large as in recent years. Hopefully, this trend will continue.
In addition to all of our hard-working community litter-pickers, the parish council would particularly like to thank our County Councillor, Ian Watson, whose generous grant from the Build Back Better Fund allowed the parish council to purchase the shiny new litter-picking equipment we used for the event, and of course Cotswold District Council for obligingly continuing to remove all the collected debris afterwards.
We are so grateful to you all for helping the council to fulfil its duty to conserve and enhance the beauty and biodiversity of our lovely parish, and if you would like to find about more about the parish council’s work for the community (apart from acting as our tireless “Westonbirt Wombles”), please do come along to the next parish council meeting and witness grass-roots democracy in action!
Parish councils are the most local tier of government in England, dating all the way back to 1894 when they were first created to separate civil duties from religious ones. The role of the parish council is to represent the views and interests of the community, and it is responsible for raising issues of public concern with other authorities such as Gloucestershire County Council, Cotswold District Council and the Gloucestershire Constabulary, making planning recommendations, and supporting community projects to improve the overall quality of life in the parish.
The council is funded by levying a “precept” which is collected alongside the council tax paid by residents of the parish. Westonbirt with Lasborough has 5 unpaid councillors who are elected to serve for a maximum term of 4 years and one part-time employee, the parish clerk. Our next election will take place in May 2027, and further details will be provided over the coming months.
Our council meetings are held quarterly, usually in Sherston Village Hall, with an additional annual meeting in May when the council must elect a chair for the upcoming year. Meetings are open to the public and always include the opportunity for members of the public to comment or raise issues they may have.
The next meeting is the Annual Council Meeting on Wednesday the 13th of May, and the evening will kick off with the Annual Parish Meeting of electors, where you will hear reports from the parish council Chair, Rachael White, and various community groups; this year we will be featuring a talk from the director of the National Arboretum, who will be outlining their vision for a “Future-Ready Westonbirt”. We will also be asking you to help us choose a logo for the parish council, which we will use to strengthen the image and identity of the council going forward.
We do hope you will be able to join us. You may even be inspired to become a councillor yourself! Tea and coffee will be served and, of course, there will also be biscuits!