VERWOOD
TOWN COUNCIL
There
has been a Parish or Town Council in Verwood since 17th Dec 1894, and at
that time it had a population of 1,190. By 1931 the population had grown
to 1,605, and in 1987 it was 9,856. It is expected to reach a peak
of approximately 15,000 in the next few years, and then hopefully stay
at that level.
Verwood
Town Council, the elected body of the Town, consists of eighteen members
representing the Civil Parish. There are four wards in the Civil Parish:
Dewlands Ward (six councillors), Newtown Ward (three councillors),
Stephen's Castle Ward (six councillors) and Three Cross & Potterne
Ward (three councillors)
As
a Council they meet eight times a year at the Council Offices, 28
Vicarage Road on Tuesdays and three times a year at the Village Hall,
Three Legged Cross on Wednesdays.
The
Council operates with a number of sub-committees who each report to the
fun Council, these are:-
FINANCE
AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
Consisting of twelve members and meeting eleven
times a year. This is the organisational, administrative and
financial committee, tasked with dealing with correspondence,
expenditure and monitoring Council activity and highway matters.
PLANNING
CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
Has
nine members and meets on a three weekly cycle
to correspond with the period allowed for comment on planning
applications by the District Council.
Its role is to examine all planning applications affecting the Civil
Parish and forward comments on them to the District Council Plans
Committee who take the decisions, hopefully conditioned by the Town
Council's advice.
AMENITIES
COMMITTEE
With a membership of
nine councillors, administers the day-to-day operation of the
cemetery and oversees the functioning, maintenance and safety of
open spaces and play areas. It meets quarterly.
The
Mayor and Deputy Mayor are on all committees, but may not be the
Chairman of any.
All
Council meetings and Sub-committee meetings are held in the evening and
are open to members of the public. With
permission and at the discretion of the Chairman/Mayor any member
of the public may comment on an issue being debated by the Council
in order to provide information or clarification of items relevant
to the matter being debated. This facility will normally be
limited to a maximum of only three minutes per person on the
subject being debated.
At Full Council at the end of the meeting the Mayor shall take questions from any electors of the Civil
Parish for a period of 15 minutes.
Notices, agendas etc. of all meetings are posted on the Town Council
notice boards and on this web site.
The Town Council office is also a Help Centre for
District and County Councils and is open Monday - Friday from
9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
