PARISH COUNCILS were established in law in 1894 having their origins in the development of villages all over England during both Saxon and Norman times. Villages in those past days were ruled by the Lord of the Manor with little national control. Sometimes the villages all met to make decisions which effected the whole community. Gradually it seems that parish priests and sometimes school masters joined the Lord of the Manor to become an effective ruling clique and it was probably from this that the first Parish Councils were formulated.

After the second world war the profile of local Councils increased significantly and the National Association of Parish Councils was formed. Since that time there has been much debate concerning the value of these Councils however today with a Central Government view of involving local communities it may be that the involvements of Parish and Town Councils will increase in the future.

A Parish Council is democratically elected to serve a defined and local area and your Council members were all elected to serve for 4 years at the last elections in May 2019.

Parish Councils exist to protect the interests of their communities and in many cases provide local services either directly or in support of higher tiers of local government (County, City, Unitary & Borough Councils)

Parish Councils have a statutory right to make comment on all planning applications within their boundaries however the decision does still rest with the higher tier authority for the area.

Hutton Parish Council has the services of a lengthsman who supports and adds value to existing County & Borough authority services and the Council is able through representation to hopefully assist in improving the area in general. During the summer months an additional assistant is contracted to help with planting and maintenance of various garden areas.

Hutton Parish Council is not however a clearing house for complaints regarding the service delivery of higher tier authorities which should be addressed in the first place to the responsible authority concerned. Hutton Parish Council has however drawn up a Village Plan which has established policies relative to issues raised by the residents of Hutton during consultation and will be looking to progress these in the future.