The Parish Council meets monthly at Westridge Studio, Star Lane, Highclere, with the exception of August and usually on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are open to the public, so residents are welcome to attend and address the council on any matter of concern or interest.  New matters for the agenda and requests to speak at a meeting should be sent in writing, preferably by email to the Clerk.

2025 Dates

14 January Westridge Studio 7:30pm

11 February Westridge Studio 7:30pm

11 March Westridge Studio 7:30pm

08 April Westridge Studio 7:30pm

20 May Highclere Village Hall 7-9pm (Annual Meeting and Annual Parish Meeting)

10 June Westridge Studio 7:30pm

01 July Westridge Studio 7:30pm

09 September Westridge Studio 7:30pm

14 October Westridge Studio 7:30pm

11 November Westridge Studio 7:30pm

• 09 December Westridge Studio 7:30pm

 

 

In the drop down tabs you can view past Agendas and Minutes (from 2019) and future meeting dates. The agenda for each meeting is published three working days before the meeting; there are usually some standard items.

By law, an assembly of the parish meeting for all the parish electors has to be held every year in March, April or May.

If you require minutes from previous years, please contact the Clerk.

Annual Meetings and Annual Parish Meetings

Annual Meetings

The Council needs to hold an annual meeting to carry out those things that only need doing once a year. These include:

• Electing a Chairman

• Electing a Vice-Chairman (if the council wants to have one)

• Appointing committees

• Appointing representatives to other bodies (e.g. the Village Hall Committee)

• Reviewing policy documents such as risk assessment, Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, etc.

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​Annual Parish Meetings

This is, in legal terms, a quite separate body from the Council, but it is invariably the Council that arranges it (simply because it is unlikely that anyone else will do so). Its decisions are not binding on the Council, though a wise Council will normally want to take heed of what is said at the meeting.

The Annual Parish Meeting is a legacy from the Middle Ages, when Local Councils did not exist, and all local decision making was carried out by meetings of the whole community, taking place in the church vestry.

The Annual Parish Meeting is open to all electors of the Parish, who have the right not only to attend but also to speak on any matter of local interest. This is in contrast to a Council meeting, where electors who are not Councillors have no automatic right to speak.

This meeting has its own minutes, which should be kept separately from the Council minutes, and these minutes can only be approved by the next Annual Parish Meeting which will, of course, not be held until the following year. It is however, good practice to bring the draft minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting to the next convenient meeting of the Local Council, since otherwise matters are unlikely to get progressed. But it is important that the Council does not actually approve these minutes, as they do not belong to the Council.​

What are the timetables for these two Meetings?

• In an election year, the “old Council” retires on the Monday following the day of elections, when the new Council comes into being. The new Council must hold its Annual (and first) Meeting within a fortnight from that Monday.

• In any other year, the Council must hold its Annual Meeting on any day in May.

The Annual Parish Meeting must be held each year between March 1st and June 1st.
Because this is a meeting of a body separate from the Parish Council (see above) the date is not affected by the Parish Council election cycle, though practical considerations may mean that you arrange it on a different date in an election year.

In legal terms the two meetings are quite separate and are accountable to two separate bodies – the Annual Meeting of the Council is accountable to the Council, and the Annual Parish Meeting is accountable to the electors as a whole. Some councils hold both on the same night, and whilst not best practice, so long as there is a clear distinction between the two, and each meeting is formally opened and closed so that everyone present knows which meeting is taking place at any given time, this is acceptable. 

We will make it clear to any non-councillors that they can take part in the Annual Parish Meeting but not in the Annual Meeting of the Council.

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