Blean Parish Council is composed of nine members, at the present time we have two vacancies, who are elected every four years. The members are elected under regulations and procedures specified in election law. The election is administered by Electoral Services of Canterbury City Council.

A Chair and Vice Chair are elected annually at the Annual meeting of the Parish Council in May. All Councillors sign an Acceptance of Office form and Declaration of Pecuniary Interests forms are published on the City Council website.

The Council meets in the Committee Room of Blean Village Hall at 7.30pm on the second Monday of every month except January and August unless for any reason the dates have to be changed. Agendas are published on the Parish Council website and the village noticeboards on the Tuesday prior to the meeting.

The public are welcome to attend Parish Council meetings and can speak on any matter for no more than three minutes at agenda item ‘Matters Raised by the Public’.

An Annual Assembly which is a social occasion, and not to be confused with the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council, which is held in May, is held in April which is usually held in the main Hall and has speakers on topical subjects to which residents can raise any questions and also to the Parish Council.

A part-time Clerk, serves the Council through who all formal business is conducted and produces minutes of meetings, maintains the records of the Parish Council’s financial affairs, circulates information, responds to correspondence on instruction from the Parish Council and liaises with the Council’s handyman and contractors on maintaining the areas owned by the Parish Council.

The clerk will report any highway problems, streetlights not functioning properly, overgrown vegetation, potholes etc. to the relevant authorities although residents can report these matters directly themselves.

The Parish Council is a statutory consultee on all Planning Applications in the parish which are discussed at Parish Council meetings. Any contentious applications can be ‘Called in’ to Committee by one of the three Ward Councillors who serve the Parish.

In November of each year the Council reviews its expenditure over the previous year and prepares a budget for the forthcoming year based on the outcome of that review. This is discussed and approved by the Parish Council from which the precept amount for the forthcoming year is agreed and submitted to the City Council. It is the Parish Council’s policy to follow the guidance set by the National Association to keep reserves of approximately a year in case of the extreme matter that the Parish Council does not receive any funding.

Expenditure on any matter has to be approved by resolution of the Parish Council. All expenditure is recorded in the minutes of meetings and is provided for internal and external audit each year. The audited accounts are available for public inspection and the rights of inspection are published on the Parish Council notice board in the village and on the Parish Council website.