Your Parish Council is a civil authority (not to be confused with the Parochial Church Councils) there to represent the views of the village. All parish councillors are unpaid volunteers, and our main focus is to work with the District and County councils to ensure services for Ascott under Wychwood.
What is a Parish Council?
A Parish Council is the first and lowest tier of local government. The Council is elected by villagers. It has limited tax raising powers via the Council tax system which is known as ‘The Precept’. This is a very small part of your Council Tax bill, currently about 5% per household.
The Council is responsible for an area known as a Civil Parish. In Ascott under Wychwood the Civil Parish extends some way beyond the actual village: as far towards Chipping Norton as Five Shilling Corner, and as far towards Leafield as Kingstanding.
We have a diverse field of responsibilities which include the Village Green and Parish open spaces and the trees on them, the Allotments and the Sports Field, Litter bins and grass cutting. We work with local organisations such as the Village Hall Committee and the Flood Wardens. We do not decide planning applications, that is done by West Oxfordshire District Council, but we are a Consultee, and we do offer an opinion which has some weight.
Parish Council Spaces
The Parish Council is responsible for the following spaces and amenities:
- Allotments
- Memorial Playing Field, including the play equipment
- Sports Pavilion
- The Pound
- Notice Boards
- Five Shilling Corner
Other Amenities
The village hall is managed by the Tiddy Hall Committee.
The church and churchyard are part the Chase Benefice.