Council Members

There are two tiers of local government in Cheshire: district councils, and town and parish councils. Pickmere has a parish council and its district council is Cheshire East. Councillors for both district and parish councils are democratically elected, normally on a four-year cycle.

Parish councils are the most local tier of governance and are often the first point of contact for anyone concerned with a community issue. They exist to represent the concerns of local residents and have the power to raise money through council tax via the parish precept.  Their statutory powers are very limited, although they may have community buildings and other assets to maintain.

However, parish councils like Pickmere play a vital role in local representation and in liaising with other authorities which do have statutory powers. Town planning is a good example, but in addition to being a consultee on planning applications and other planning matters (e.g. Cheshire East’s Local Plan), Pickmere Parish Council endeavours to submit representations to relevant local and national government bodies on key issues likely to affect the Pickmere community. It has, in recent years, submitted such representations on the HS2 proposals, on proposals for local changes to M6, on Northern Powerhouse Rail, on proposals for waste incinerators in Northwich, and on planning policy matters at national government level.  As part of this process it hosts information events from time to time.

Pickmere Parish Council to February 2021