What we do

Kilham Parish Council is a democratically elected body with a mandate to speak on behalf of all the people living within the parish boundary of Kilham. The function of the Council is to act as a focus for local opinion and to get things done in a way that is best suited to the needs of the local community. The Council does not operate in isolation but seeks to achieve far more by working constructively with other public bodies and organisations.

Listed below are the commitments and responsibilities the Council must fulfil together with some additional commitments it chooses to make:

• Prepare an annual budget and set a precept (local tax) to cover the cost of the councils work
• Review annually the Satnding Orders, Financial Regulations and Policies which together provide the structure for the proper behaviour of the Council
• Act as planning consultants and respond to all planning applications within Kilham Parish
• Scrutinise, give clear responses to and suggest more widely acceptable alternatives to the Local Development Framework proposals in order to identify sufficient sites for development while protecting the uniqueness of the village
• Publish the Kilham News and the Kilham Parish Council website

We have responsibility for the care of:

• allotments for residents
• public seating
• litter and salt bins
• some street lighting
• the cemetery, it’s grounds and boundaries
• the village clock, situated in the church tower
• the grass, trees, boundary walls and paths at All Saints Churchyard
• seating, grounds and the boundary fences surrounding the village pond
• open spaces around the bull ring and lift pump in Church Street and the Bumblebee pump in Back Lane

The Council finds it is assuming the responsibility for village assets that were previously cared for by other groups. These groups tend to be extinct or seriously depleted as their members become elderly, move away or die. In this category are the following:

• the War Memorial
• the Garden of Remembrance
• the Children’s Playground at the village hall

The Council is supportive of the younger people in the community and has made grants to Kilham School, the Youth Club and the Playing Field Association. It also gives an annual grant to the Driffield School Twilight Bus Service to enable Kilham students to pursue studies and activities after normal school hours.

The Council has produced a Severe Winter Weather Plan which ensures that sufficient snow and ice is cleared to enable safer travel on the village roads. The recently published Emergency Plan has the needs of it’s vulnerable residents very much in mind, and seeks to provide a practical response to the needs that might arise from extreme events.