| GENERAL INFORMATION |
| 1. Council Meetings | 2. Allotments | 3. Alfred Major Recreation Ground |
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5. Procedure for Declaration and filling of Casual Vacancies and Serve as a Councillor |
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1. COUNCIL MEETINGS (return to top)
Members of the public are very welcome to attend full Parish Council meetings. These take place on the first Tuesday of each month (excluding August). There is a 15 minute period for questions from the floor from 7.45pm-8.00pm. The maximum time any individual may have is 5 minutes.
Members of the public may also attend the sub committee meetings. Information regarding these can be seen on the Parish notice boards that are located in the High Street by Barnside Motors, outside the Parish Office in High Road, outside Pinder Hall in Lower Road and outside the old Cookham Dean Post Office in Bigfrith..
There is also an Annual Meeting normally during the month of April when a guest speaker is usually involved, often on a controversial issue. This meeting is then open to the public for debate on any subject they wish to raise.
Allotments can be found in Sutton Road, Alfred Major and Alleyns Lane. A standard allotment size is 10 poles but it is now usual to offer 5-pole plots.
The rent is payable in October each year. New tenants are required to pay a one-off deposit of £25 to secure the plot. This deposit is refundable on termination of the tenancy once the plot is inspected and found in good order.
Anyone interested in having an allotment, or requiring further information, please contact the Parish Council Office (Tel: 01628 522003).
3. ALFRED MAJOR RECREATION GROUND (return to top)
The Parish Council owns fourteen acres of green space in the middle of Cookham called the Alfred Major Recreation ground. This area was left to the village in the 1940s for recreational purposes. It is now much used by Cookham Dean Football Club and has practise post for general play. It also has a children's play area that can be used by children under 10 years of age, an adult keep fit area and a hard surface Basketball / Netball court. In the summer young people's activities are also organised.
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The Parish Council decided to have a hard surface area on the Alfred Major Recreation ground. This was after a consultative questionnaire was made available to all villagers. The hard area was completed in early October and the Basketball posts were installed on the 12th October 1999. These were supplied free through the English Basketball Association in association with the National Lotteries Board. |
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The Basketball and Netball Courts on Alfred Major Recreation Ground |
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There is a children's play ground with lots of slides and play items on it. It is totally enclosed so children can play safely and parents can watch their children. |
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The Children's Play Area |
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In 2008 an adults keep fit area was built. This has a variety of different pieces of apparatus to improve fitness of various parts of the body. |
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the Adult Keep Fit Apparatus |
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4. COOKHAM PARISH CEMETERY (return to top)
1. The Cookham Parish Cemetery can be found off Switchback Road
North. Inform the Clerk to the Parish Council at least three days prior to
any interment (Monday to Friday 8.30am - 12.30pm).
2. All fees and charges due to the Council are to be paid to the Clerk, with
cheques made Payable to Cookham Parish Council.
3. The selection of the plot in all cases, both of general interment and purchase,
is to be subject to the approval of the Council or of their Clerk, but the wishes of applicants will be met
as far as may be deemed practicable.
4. Parishioners or inhabitants of the Parish may purchase the exclusive right of
burial for a period not exceeding 100 years in any grave space and may have a grant thereof according to a
form approved by the Council. The like privilege will be allowed to
non-parishioners on payment of additional fees as provided.
5. For adults, no grave space less than 5 feet, no other graves less than 4 feet in depth
from the surface will be allowed, and none but graves purchased exclusively are to
be re-opened.
6. All brick, stone, or other rubbish, shall be removed by and at the
expense of the parties by whom it has been caused.
7. All memorials and inscriptions are to be subject to the approval of the Parish Council, and a
copy of any inscription (if containing anything more than the name, date of death and age of the
deceased) proposed to be placed in the ground, and a drawing showing the form and
dimensions of every memorial proposed to be erected, must be left with the Clerk to
the Council until the next meeting of the Council for approval. All memorials and tablets are to be kept in repair by the
owners, except a special agreement be made with the Council, and if not repaired after due notice, may be removed by order of the
Council.
8. A register of the burials will be kept at the office of the Clerk and
Registrar of the Parish Council; where, at reasonable times, searches may be made, and certified
extracts be obtained.
9. Persons committing injury or willful damage within the Cemetery are liable to a penalty not exceeding £20, by
Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1974 (15).
10. No funerals will be allowed after 12 noon on Saturdays.
11. No bushes, flowers or ornamental shrubs may be planted in the Cemetery, except within the
grave space for which exclusive rights have been granted. The planting of any flowers
or shrubs on the Cremation Plot is forbidden, although flowers and shrubs may be
planted in vases or containers
on a memorial tablet.
5.
PROCEDURE
FOR DECLARATION AND FILLING OF CASUAL VACANCIES AND SERVE AS A COUNCILLOR
If a Councillor ceases to be qualified or becomes disqualified (for any reason other than disqualification after audit, conviction, corrupt or illegal election practices) or if he/she is absent for six consecutive months for reasons not approved by the Council, it must declare his/her office vacant. Every vacancy, whether so declared or not, must be publicly notified.
If no poll is claimed within fourteen days by 10 electors, a casual vacancy is filled by co-option and the Council must be convened for the purpose forthwith. An absolute majority of those present and voting is required to choose a new Councillor. If a poll is claimed by 10 electors, a bye election is held by poll conducted by the Returning Officer. No poll can be claimed in the six months before an ordinary election
In the event of the Council being required to fill a vacancy by co-option, the Council will carry out the procedure set out below:-
1. The Council shall convene and interview each candidate who has put his/her name forward for co-option to fill a vacancy and serve as a Councillor. The purpose for the interview is to ascertain that each candidate is lawfully qualified to serve as a Councillor and, to assess the level of interest shown by each candidate on issues which may affect the local community.
2. The Chairman shall conduct the interview under Standing Order 68, and the Statutory Resolution in relation to Standing Order 68 shall be invoked by the presiding Chairman before the interviews commence.
3. The Council shall interview each candidate separately.
4. When the interviews have been completed, the Council shall choose a candidate to fill the vacancy from the candidates who attended for interview. Voting shall be by a show of hands, or if two members of the Council so request, by signed ballot.
5. On completion of the voting, Standing Order 68 will cease to apply and the presiding Chairman shall announce the name of the candidate chosen by the Council to serve as a Councillor.
6. In the event of only one name being put forward for co-option to fill the vacancy and serve as a Councillor, the Council shall co-opt the person so named, provided he/she is lawfully qualified.
7. The candidate chosen by the Council to fill the vacancy and serve as a Councillor, must, in law, sign the “Declaration of Acceptance of Office” before being allowed to serve as a Councillor. At the same time, he/she must make a written undertaking to observe the “Code of Conduct” before the signing the “Declaration of Acceptance of Office”.
6. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 (return to top)
INTRODUCTION
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires every public authority to adopt and maintain a publication scheme, which has been approved by the Information Commissioner, and to publish information in accordance with the scheme. From 1 January 2009, one approved model scheme has to be adopted by all authorities. The scheme lists information under seven broad classes.
Authorities need to provide a guide to the information provided under the scheme. We do not charge for the information which is accessible on our website. However, a charge may be incurred for reproducing information or providing it in alternative formats, where this is possible.
The Council is committed to openness and accountability and already makes large amounts of information available to the public at the office, through the website, the Parish Council Notice Boards, by telephone and by post.
Some information is available online. If however you cannot find the information you are after, please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council, Mrs Janet Wheeler. We can then offer guidance on where the information is held or whether a Freedom of Information request is needed.
Classes of Information (Freedom of Information Act 2000)
Who we are and what we do
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Council's Constitution.
What we spend and how we spend it
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Council Budget.
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Annual Statement of Accounts
What our priorities are and how we are doing
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Strategies and plans, performance information, inspections and reviews.
How we make decisions
Our policies and procedures
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Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities.
Lists and Registers
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Public registers and asset lists.
The service we offer
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