Parish Rooms
The Council currently comprises 12 Councillors elected by Parishioners in May 2019. Three seats are vacant. Councillors are required to adhere to a code of conduct to uphold standards of public office. Our Councillors are unpaid and give their time voluntarily to benefit the community.
The Council is the first tier of local government and the tier closest to local communities. It meets to agree action, policies and/or commit to expenditure for the benefit of the parish of Martlesham.
The Councillors are supported by a well qualified and experienced Clerk to the Council and a team who are trained to high professional standards so that they can advise the council about their legal and statutory duties. Our Clerk also acts as our Responsible Financial Officer to manage the Council's finances in accordance with legal and statutory requirements.
To manage the work the Council has committees to focus on more detailed aspects. Martlesham has 3 committees namely:
- Development Plans, to deal with planning and related consultations; Read more
- Recreation and Amenities, to deal with providing and maintaning facilities in the parish, Read more and
- Finance and General Purposes, to help manage financial and legal matters. Read more
All Council and Committee meetings are open to the public and there is a standing agenda item where the public may raise matters of concern.
We also have a number of working groups to address specific issues. Current working groups are:
- - Portal Woodlands Conservation Group. This manages the work programmes and educational activities carried out to the benefit of all users of the area.
- - Working Group for Martlesham Common. This group was set up to help integrate Mill Heath with The Common. It also works closely with the Greenways Conservation Group on management plans for the area using volunteers and professional assistance from time to time funded by the Recreations and Amenities committee budget when grants are not available. We have had grants in the past from Butterfly Conservation to help with the management of bracken.
- - Sports Fund Working Group. This group was created to assess the demand for sports facilities and determine how any funding might best be spent. It is currently working on our proposed trim trail facility for Martlesham.
- - Community Orchard Working Group. A new group to look into setting up a community orchard.
- - Brightwell Lakes Working Group. To research the planning issues behind the anticipated planning applications coming out of the Brightwell Lakes Development.
- - Martlesham Village Fete Working Group. To plan and organise the annual village fete.
The chairman calls an Annual Parish meeting once a year (usually in April) to explain the work of the Council, to facilitate local organisations meeting the public, and to gather views which might guide the Council in its work plan.
Current Councillors: Miss J I L Bear, Mr C Blundell, Mr L W Burrows (Vice Chairman), Mr S Denton, Mrs J Drummond, Mr J Forbes, Mr M Irwin (Chairman), Ms R Jones, Mr M I O'Brien Baker, Mr R F Staines, Mr E Thompson, Mr M Williamson
Clerk: Mrs S Robertson.
Deputy Clerk: Mrs D Linsley
Officer: Mrs D Chappell
Administration Assistant: Mrs L Woodhouse