Annual Parish Meeting

Legally the Annual Parish Meeting is a totally separate body from the Parish Council, even though it is the Parish Council that arranges it. The decisions made by the Annual Parish Meeting are not binding on the Parish Council, but should be viewed as guidance regarding priorities and actions to be taken.

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

The Annual Parish Meeting is open to all electors of Tankersley 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 Parish Council meeting, where electors who are not Councillors have no automatic right to speak (although Tankersley Parish Council does have a set time before any Parish Council meeting when electors can raise matters of concern to them). The Annual Parish Meeting has its own minutes, which are kept separately from the Parish 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.

The Annual Parish Meeting is usually held in the Hub formerly known as the Welfare Hall in March. A speaker may be invited to speak on a subject of current interest to the Parish.