About the Parish Council

There are over 8,700 parish and town councils representing around 16 million people across England. They form the most local level of government and cover many rural and urban areas. The latter include many of our larger cities such as Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. To find out details about other parish or town councils in your area contact the National Association of Local Councils on its website www.nalc.gov.uk

What is the difference between a parish council and a town council? Not a great deal. They both have the same powers and can provide the same services. The only difference is that a town council has decided that it should be known as a town council instead of a parish council, and has a mayor.

The Parish Council meetings are now held at Carlton Lodge, on the 4th Monday of the month (except August and December) at 7.30pm.

What Services Do The Parish Council Provide?

Your Parish Council has an overall responsibility for the well-being of your local community. 

Their works falls into three main categories:

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

As with Carlton Miniott which is a fairly small council, some of these services are provided and maintained by principle authorities such as Hambleton District Council or North Yorkshire County Council or even other organisations such as Carlton Miniott Playing Field committee.

Parish Council Procedures

Parish Councils must:
  • Appoint a Chairman responsible for the smooth running of meetings and for ensuring that all council decisions are lawful.
  • Appoint a Clerk as the Parish Council's advisor and administrator.
  • Have at least five members. The National Association of Local Councils recommends seven as the minimum number needed for good administration.
  • Appoint a Responsible Financial Officer to manage the finances in a sound and professional manner. The RFO is often the Clerk.
  • Appoint an independent and competent Internal Auditor.
  • Comply with Employment Law, including equal opportunities and disability legislation, and the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts.
  • Hold a minimum of four meetings a year, one of which must be the Annual Meeting. In practice most Parish Councils meet monthly.
Parish Council elections are held every four years. Parish Councils have the power to co-opt members if there are insufficient candidates to fill all places.

The Role of the Parish Councillor
Parish councilors were unpaid positions until 2004 when allowance schemes were introduced to encourage more people to stand. Allowances are still, however, at the discretion of the individual councils. They can choose to maintain a strictly unpaid status, believing that councilors should stand for the love of the parish or town, not for any financial reason. To be a parish councilor requires time and commitment. A councilor will usually spend a couple of hours a week on parish business and this will increase if they are a member of a permanent or short-term committee. Most councilors serve on at least one committee.

How Do The Parish Council Make Decisions?
The parish council is made up of a number of councillors who meet regularly to make decisions on the work and direction of the council. As an elected body the parish councils are responsible to the people they represent.- That’s your local community.

Attending a council meeting is the best way to find out what they do. Check the Parish Council website and/or parish notice boards if you want to know when its next public meeting is scheduled to take place, or contact the Clerk on carltonminiottparishcouncil@outlook.com .  They would be very pleased to see you and explain procedures if requested.

Are you interested in helping or standing for your Parish Council?
To stand for election on a parish council, you must:
  • be a UK or Commonwealth citizen, or;
  • be a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or;
  • be a citizen of another Member state of the European Union;
  • be at least 18 years old.
To be eligible to stand for an election for a particular parish, you must:

be an elector of the parish, or; for the whole of the previous 12 months have occupied (as owner or tenant) land or other premises in the parish, or; during the previous 12 months have worked in the parish (as your principal or only place of work), or; for the whole of the previous 12 months lived in the parish or within three miles of the parish boundary.

The following have been returned as councillors to the Carlton Miniott Parish Council

Contact and other information below is as supplied by individual councillors. 


Cllr Christine Ridsdale (Chairperson) Tel: 01845 524490 

Cllr. Mike Nickson (Vice Chairman) Tel: 01845 523368

Cllr Giles Chaplin Tel: 01845 523541

Cllr. Janice Nickson Tel: 01845 523368

Clerk: carltonminiottparishcouncil@outlook.com or 07803 769078