Hello ,

My name is David Ekinsmyth and I have been an Illogan Parish Councillor since May 2007. I formally represent the West Tehidy and Tolvaddon ward but in practice all parish councillors are concerned with the whole parish.

Illogan parish is one of the largest in Cornwall with well over 3000 households and a wide range of age groups and income levels. This is quite a challenge for the Council.

As things stand at the moment the parish council is the a third tier authority  working with the Cornwall County Council and Kerrier District Council, but after March 31st 2009 there will only be two: the new Cornwall Unitary Council and Illogan Parish Council.

As many people in our community say they are not really clear about what goes on at the parish council I will use this site to inform and hopefully engage parishioners in debate.

On basic detail the council meets for a full council meeting monthly, usually on the third Wednesday in Penwartha Hall, Penwartha Road. The meetings start at 7pm prompt and usually last for no more than 2 hours, often a lot less! depending on the length and detail of the Agenda. There are 14 councillors who should attend if possible and members of the public are welcome to come and have an opportunity to speak if they so wish.Notice of the meetings ,Agendas and Minutes are posted on parish notice boards at least 7 days in advance of the meeting.

In order to make the work of the council more efficient, sub-committees are elected to look at specific areas on behalf of the full council and these meet on the remaining Wednesdays of the month. Current committees include: Planning and transportation; Finance and staffing; Unitary authority and Parish Plan ;Bus shelter; Resources; Ray Uren memorial. In addition working and advisory groups can be formed including members of the public to advise the council. We currently have an allotment group.

So you can see it is quite an organisation, and the whole lot is supported by the Parish Clerk, Sue Ballinger, and who has the responsibility of making sure all decisions of the councillors are actioned and for advising public and councillors on council matters. Sue works part-time and along with our litter warden are the employees of the Council.

I am on most of these committees and Chair the Unitary Authority and parish Plan committee so I to am in a good position keep you informed.

Look out for the new Illogan Council website which will go live in December. I will provide a link in due course.

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