Parish Council

Outwood Parish Council has been in existence since May 2000, being created from parts of Burstow and Horne Parishes.  The village itself has existed for many years, with the Windmill, dating back to the mid-17^th century, being our major focal point.  (For further information on the history of the village, see the Local History page).

In 1869, with the building of the Church of St John the Baptist, the Ecclesiastical Parish of Outwood was formed, and this has been the basis of what was for the next 130 years or so the area known as ‘Outwood’.  However, there have been many anomalies in this arrangement.  For example, ‘The Bell Inn at Outwood’ has actually been, for local government matters, in the Parish of Bletchingley, and Shepherds Hurst, although being thought of locally as being in Outwood, has in fact been in Nutfield Parish.  These ‘issues’ have been resolved with some changes being made to the existing Parish Boundaries.

Who Are We?

Outwood Parish Council has five Councillors, all of whom are volunteers and live in Outwood.  The role of each Councillor is to represent the best interests of the local residents of Outwood.  

We also employ the services of a Parish Clerk, on a part-time basis, to act on legal, financial and administrative matters and as a point of contact for residents.

The contact details for all the Councillors and the Parish Clerk are given below. Each Councillor has to complete a Declaration of Interests form on appointment; the latest versions of these can be viewed by clicking on the name of each Councillor in the table below.

What Do We Do?

From our inception the Parish Council has adopted a ‘non-political’ approach to local matters.  Being a small parish (around 500 names on the Electoral Roll), the issues which are of most concern to us are those associated with ensuring that the services to which we are entitled are indeed provided by both the Tandridge District and Surrey County Councils.  In the present political climate, shortage of money seems to be a major stumbling block to achieving this.

The Parish Council is a statutory body – albeit the lowest level of local government.  However, while it has limited powers, it is here to stay.  In the event of no local people coming forward to serve on future councils, the next tier of government – the District Council – would take over responsibility and appoint new councillors.  Therefore, it is in all our interests to support the Council and ensure local representation, both now and in the future.

The Parish Council can exercise legal powers to run certain local facilities and services and its activities are funded by an extra cost known as a ‘precept’, which forms part of each householder’s Council Tax bill.  Our precept, originally set by Tandridge District Council, is currently £19000 per year, or roughly £80 for each household within the Parish. (This precept amount includes repayments of over £10,000 per year for a PWLB loan of £200,000 to part fund the rebuilding of the Lloyd Hall in 2014).

While we may have very limited powers, our statutory duty to the community is to help local people and organisations wherever possible, to obtain the services to which they are entitled, and to direct them to the appropriate body (voluntary or otherwise) when they are in need.  We are also able to help local organisations with financial assistance, but we do have to be certain that a good case has been made, and that the funding will be properly used and not spent indiscriminately.

Tandridge District Council also consults the Parish Council on all local planning issues, appeals, inquiries and licensing where these affect Outwood.  However, the Parish Council does not have powers to approve or reject planning applications.

When and Where Do We Meet?

Council meetings are usually held in the Church Room (at the Brickfield Rd end of Wasp Green Lane) on the first Wednesday of each month, except for August and December, when the Council does not meet.  Meetings commence at 7.30pm.

Our meetings, while not being Public Meetings, are open to the public, and anyone can attend and ask questions on Agenda matters, with the Chairman’s permission.  They are often a useful source of information for anyone with an interest in the village and Parish of Outwood.  We look forward to welcoming you at one of our future meetings!

For specific dates of all the forthcoming Council meetings this year, please see the Village Diary.