What is Stanway Parish Council?
Stanway Parish Council is a local council and is in the lowest tier of local government in England.
It is one of 31 parish/town councils within the Colchester Borough Council area. Colchester is one of the 12 borough/district councils within the Essex County Council area. There are also two unitary councils in Essex but they do not fall within the County Council’s influence.
The difference between parish and town councils is purely historic; some parish councils are allowed to call themselves town councils and have town mayors, e.g. West Mersea and Wivenhoe, but there is no difference in terms of powers and responsibilities.
Some parish councils have a strong party political influence and others are fervently non party political. Stanway Parish Council is firmly in the latter camp. Whilst there are members and activists of all the major political parties sitting on the council, party politics has no place in its deliberations.
Stanway Parish Council consists of 15 councillors and elects every four years. The next scheduled election is May 2011. Stanway Parish Council is committed to becoming a 'Quality Parish Council'.
How is Stanway parish represented geographically?
There are two wards, East and West, introduced in 2003 to reflect the changes made to the Borough ward boundaries the previous year.
East ward contains the vast majority of the residents and elects 13 councillors. Presently, West ward contains only three roads, Church Lane west of Lakelands (except Owltree House which, inexplicably, is in East ward), London Road from Western Approach westwards, and Turkey Cock Lane. This will change when the rest of Lakelands is developed as the whole of the new development will be in West ward.
We welcome any questions you have about the council so please use the contact us facility or alternatively send an e-mail to info@stanwayparishcouncil.co.uk