The Council

What is a Parish Council?

A Parish Council is the most local level of government, with responsibility of the well-being of the local community.

A Parish Council’s work falls into three categories:

Representing the local community
Delivering services to meet local needs
Striving to improve the quality of life in the community

A Parish Council is a statutory body and collects its funding through a precept, or a charge which is collected through the council tax by – in Hordle’s case – New Forest District Council.

Hordle Parish Council works closely with New Forest District Council and Hampshire County Council, as well as the New Forest National Park Authority to deliver services to the communities it serves.

What does a Parish Councillor do?

The Parish Council makes decisions through its regular meetings with the elected Parish Councillors.  Parish Councillors are voluntary and give their time freely as community leaders to represent the views and aspirations of local people and as such they make a real difference to the community.  Hordle Parish Council has 11 members who are elected every four years.  For a list of Parish Councillors and their roles click here.

Councillors have three main components to their work:

Decision making – through meetings and attending committees with other elected members, councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered and what policies should be implemented.
Monitoring – councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working.
Getting involved locally – as local representatives, councillors have responsibilities towards their constituents and local organisations. These responsibilities and duties often depend on what the councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available and may include:
Going to meetings of local organisations and bodies affecting the wider community.
Taking up issues on behalf of members of the public.
Meeting with individual residents in their own homes.