Introduction to Tilehurst Parish Council

My first meeting was 13th August 2019 at the Calcott Centre. The Council offices are also at the Calcot Centre which also has some great hall and meeting facilities.

Tilehurst Parish Council covers an area within the West Berkshire Council and I will represent Tilehurst Central.

It was a packed agenda with 27 agenda items but I am told that this is unusual and it was because they have missed a meeting with so many Councillors being away and so it was a bit of catch up.

Four of us were voted in on the night and took our place for a marathon session covering all sorts of business. We provided comments on consultations affecting the area, approved some planning applications and had discussions about how we tackle crime. It was great to hear about some of the community activities going on such as scouts, litter picking group and other volunteering. There was much more discussed which you can see on the agenda. The minutes will come to the next meeting for approval on the 10th September 2019.

We were given all the meeting papers. Usually we would be sent this in advance but we had not been voted in before the meeting. We were also given some induction material to help us to understand more about our roles and responsibilities and the Parish itself. I also found a very helpful guide to being a councillor on the Local Government Association website which I found helpful.

There is a really great mix of knowledge, experience and passion on the Council and the Clerk is just updating the website to include the new details.

If anyone has any comments on the agenda items or would like to find out a bit more about them, then do get in touch via email (ali.foster@yahoo.co.uk) or tel 07831252757.

I hope to be able to provide regular updates once I get my head round it all and encourage more people to become involved in community activity.