Work of the Council.
Taking Part in Council Meetings
The Council encourages members of the Public to attend meetings. If you wish to speak at a meeting, the Council will suspend its work for a time to allow you to speak. This is normally early in the Agenda. Once this item has passed, the Council will not normally allow members of the Public to address the Council. If you wish to speak to the Council, or ask questions of the Council, then please speak to the Clerk, who will let you know how to go about this.
Legal Foundations
Ripponden Parish Council was a ‘successor council’ to Ripponden Urban District Council, and was established by an Act of Parliament in 1973. The Council’s Powers are derived from this Act. Further Acts have sought to establish the responsibilities and powers of Parish Councils, and a full list is available from DEFRA. While the term ‘Parish Council’ has been used since the 11th Century, there has been no link between the Church and Parish Councils since 1894. Parish Councils are established as the lowest level of Local Government. A list of Parish Council powers and responsibilities is shown at DEFRAs website [
www.defra.gov.uk/rural/pdfs/communities/PPow-dutylist.pdf ]
Town and Parish Councils
Both town and parish councils have the same status. The only difference is between the person who chairs a meeting: a Parish Council meeting is chaired by the Chairman of the Council; a Town Council meeting is chaired by the Town Mayor.
Principal Authorities
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council has responsibility for most of the services delivered in Ripponden such as: education, roads, social care etc. For example, the Parish Council is consulted on planning matters, but Calderdale (as the Planning authority) has final responsibility for deciding on proposals and controlling development.