Parish Council Meetings

Ordinary Meetings of the full council are held once a month, generally at 7:30pm in the Club Room of the Village Centre in St Mary Bourne, generally on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

Members of the public are welcome to attend these meetings and may address the council on any matter during the time allowed for public speaking, unless precluded due to the confidential nature of business to be discussed, and we encourage your attendance. 

Items for consideration on agenda items should be emailed to : clerk@stmarybourne-pc.gov.uk 

Speaking at Council meetings

Whilst the press and public may not speak when the council is in session, you are invited to speak in the public session on agenda items, to inform the Council of your views before it makes a decision.  There is a public session of 10 minutes set aside at the beginning of the meeting and the Chair will invite contributions.  

Items not on the agenda cannot be formally debated or resolved. Items brought up by the attendance of the general public or in correspondence can be discussed, but formal resolutions on these must be deferred if they are not covered by the existing agenda to the next meeting so that due notice can be given. It is common practice to have a "public participation" item at the beginning of the agenda so that the public knows the time when this will occur.

The Chairman can also invite someone to address the Council at any time during a meeting, but normally this only takes place during the public session item.

Public notice of meetings of the council and its committees must be given at least three clear days before and be displayed in a "noticeable place" in the Parish, giving time, date and venue. 

Procedures for the conduct of meetings are set out in Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972, and where this is not overridden by legislation, by the standing orders of the Council. Most adopt the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) model standing orders.