From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Perhaps you should pull-off a walk-in.
> Find out where they are holding their meetings,
>and arrive unannounced to attend one, or several of them.
> Thing is, if they are holding a 'star chamber' sort
>of meeting, and demand that you leave, then you have the
>ammunition with which to take them all to task.
> Should not all of their meetings be open and
>attended by all who wish to know what they are discussing?
> And what excuse could they use to exclude their
>fellow citizens from meetings that will affect them?
> Who - on that board of individuals - could possibly
>connive to deprive the citizens of the information that is
>conducted in the normal course of business?
>
One of the fair criticisms of Parish Councils is that Councillors are
not elected by the population of the Parish. (That said, generally the
best way to get yourself invited onto the Parish Council is to show
yourself willing to do a bit of work.)
Two things to remember:
(1) Parish Council meetings are open and members of the public are
free to attend. This does not extend to taking part in discussions on
the items on the agenda (there shouldn't be anything else!, though
PC's are encouraged to set aside some time for parishioners to speak -
usually at the beginning of the meeting.
(2) The Parish Council is bound by the complaints procedure of the
District Council so any legitimate complaint you might have with the
actions/inactions of the PC or of a serving Councillor should be
addressed initially to the Chair of the PC, then if the matter is not
dealt with properly, you take your complaint to the Clerk of the
District Council. The term "maladministration" is applied when a
Local Authority acts outwith its powers, acts improperly, or fails to
take action. Not just in terms of it's response to a matter of
business, but also in terms of its response to you as a concerned
parishioner.
The more I think about the topic which started this thread, the more I
question what role or authority a Parish Council might have in terms
of dealing with a complaint about shooting activities in its area.
If it's a matter of shooting over Council land, there ought to be
tenancy/shooting rights agreements somewhere - any protest about this
ought to be judged by the PC in the round - by seeking views more
widely than simply responding to a single complaint.
If it's about shooting on adjacent land and the actions of people from
that land recovering shot birds from PC land, firstly the right of
access to recover shot birds is, IIRC, enshrined in law.
If it's about the actions of a person from etc. whilst on PC land,
either in relation to shot birds, or in relation to other people
already on PC land you're back into the territory of "good
neighbourliness" and whilst one party could tell the other to "go
hang", the best way forward lies in respecting each other's rights and
responsibilities.
If it's just about one resident aggrieved by game shooting elsewhere
within the Parish, I can't see that the PC has any valid role in
getting involved whatsoever.
There is still the matter of the time of year when this event was
thought to have taken place - outwith the open season for pheasant.
Pete
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www.theproof-reader.co.uk
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right to say it." Voltaire 1907.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
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