Bishop Middleham & Mainsforth Parish Council

Bishop Middleham & Mainsforth

Parish Council

Parish Council Services

Who are we & what we do
for Bishop Middleham & Mainsforth

About the Parish Council

Your Parish Council team is made up of volunteers from the community and we all care passionately about our community and each do what we can to help maintain and develop such a wonderful place to live, work and raise families.

Chairmans Report
What is a Parish Council?

Parish councils were formed in England under the Local Government Act 1894 to take over local oversight of civic duties in rural towns and villages.


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What we do

The Parish Council has the power to raise a local tax known as the “precept”. This gives our council an income of just under £52,000 this year, which the team allocate to support our statutory duties, other responsibilities and community initiatives.

The Precept for Bishop Middleham and Mainsforth is set at £123.56 this year (2023-2024), which equates to £2.38 per week per household for a Band D property. Most households in the Parish will pay this tax and our aim is to use this money to provide value for money services, amenities and to maintain the local environment for the 1,300 people who live in our community.


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How to get involved

The council meets in the Village Hall at 7pm on the second Wednesday of each month, except for August. The Agenda for each meeting will be posted in the noticeboard in Bishop Middleham and Mainsforth and on the Parish Council website and social media about 1 week prior to the meeting.

You will notice on the Agenda that there is an item for Public Participation. At this point the Chair will ask if there are any short points/comments that you would like to raise. Please note that this is not a question and answer or a debating time, rather an opportunity for you to make your views known to Council members or to bring forward new ideas that you would like members to discuss.

If possible, the Chair will give an immediate answer if he or she is able to, but the council cannot take a decision as such at that time. If the item is already on the agenda, then discussion on the matter and possibly a resolution will take place at that point in the meeting. (In accordance with our Standing Orders – no decision can be taken without prior notification on an agenda.)

If you would like to add something to the agenda, this must be submitted to the Clerk, parishclerk@bishopmiddleham-pc.gov.uk, 2 weeks prior to the meeting, to give time to make the necessary amendments before the Agenda is put out. If you are just interested in what is discussed, please come along.

Outside of the formal meetings, your Parish Councillors are available to speak with individually and confidentially should you wish. Councillor contact details are on the “Meet your Councillors” page. The Parish Council hold an Annual Meeting in May each year, this is a good opportunity to come along and meet the team.

Please keep an eye on the noticeboards, this website and social media for all of the latest information.


Council Meeting's

Click the button to view the latest meeting Agenda

View Latest Agenda
Items to help you...

Take a look at our forms and our policies.

Forms Policies
What's going on in the Parish?

Latest Updates & News

We have a vacancy!

We invite expressions of interest from members of our community to join our Parish Council team; a group of passionate volunteers who help to maintain and build our community, leading, organising and collaborating on projects and events which help conserve our past and build our future.

We particularly encourage applications from Mainsforth and from younger members of the Parish so that our team better reflects the community we serve.

To read the full document please click here (PDF).

Armed Forces Covenant

Bishop Middleham Parish Council are committed to uphold the Forces Covenant. To read the document please click here.

Newsletter

Welcome to the the first edition of our new village newsletter! We are excited to launch this quarterly publication as a platform to keep our community members informed about the latest news and events happening in the village.

To read the new newsletter please click here.

An introduction to

Your Parish Councillors


Your Parish Council team is made up of nine volunteers from the community and we all bring different skills and experience to the team and are a non-politicised group.

We all care passionately about our community and each do what we can to help maintain and develop such a wonderful place to live, work and raise families.

We are ably supported by our very experienced Parish Clerk.



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Harvey Neve

Harvey Neve [Chair]

I joined the Parish Council in 2012 to help out with the Parish Plan and now find myself privileged to be Chair of our wonderful and talented team of volunteers who all commit spare time and energy to help maintain and develop our community.

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Learn more about living in...

Bishop Middleham & Mainsforth Community

We all care passionately about our community and each do what we can to help maintain and develop such a wonderful place to live, work and raise families.

Bishop Middleham Village Hall

Village Hall

A very important asset to the Parish, the Hall is used by a range of community groups, and is regularly hired for parties, meetings, presentations, and a variety of classes.


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Bishop Middleham Castle Lake

Castle Lake

Known locally as Castle Lake, this water body covers an area of 13 ha (33acres) and is a highly significant inland wetland supporting a wide range of flora and fauna, not only regionally, but also in the case of select species, nationally important numbers of birds.


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Around the Bishop Middleham village

Around the Village

The villages of Bishop Middleham & Mainsforth lie in a valley 9 miles South West of Durham and have a rich history dating back millennia. The area is dominated by beautiful open countryside and rich biodiversity with areas of outstanding beauty and historic sites of national importance.


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