Open space needs improving? Interested in how the villages look and how we provide things for our young people? Not enough events? Parish council spending too much or too little? Have ideas how these and other issues can be addressed? Well, why not come and join us and help us try to resolve the issues that exist in our communities.

Have you thought about becoming a Parish Councillor? We need your help!

There is currently one vacancy for Coxhoe Ward. The vacancies will be filled by co-option. Candidates are asked to submit an expression of interest by 12.00 midday on Thursday 26 May 2022 in the first instance, so that their submissions can be considered by Parish Councillors at their meeting on Wednesday 8 June. If the vacancy is not filled, it will be re-advertised with a new closing date.

For an informal discussion, please contact the Chair of the Parish Council Stuart Dunn on 07703 351046.

You can find plenty of information about the Council on this website, including past agendas and minutes, and important documents and policies.

You are invited to contact the Clerk by emailing clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk for any further information or with any queries, and to attend a Parish Council meeting to see how the Council works. Please make sure you read the Parish Council’s Co-option Policy before applying. All candidates must submit an expression of interest form. You can download the form which is an Appendix to the Co-Option Policy in the above link, or request a Word document from the Clerk by emailing clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk.

The vacancies are published on the Parish Council’s Noticeboard.

Coxhoe Parish Council is looking to employ Auxiliary Youth Workers on a casual basis, to help deliver our services for children and young people working with other members of our staff team.

We currently offer five sessions a week in Coxhoe and Quarrington Hill, with both indoor and outdoor activities, visits from coaches and other organisations, and occasional events.

You can find out details of the Youth Auxiliary Workers’ posts on the Coxhoe Parish Council Noticeboard page.

If you are interested and have skills and experience relevant to our person specification, then we would love to hear from you. All the documents you need are available through the link above.

Applications must be received by midday on Tuesday 12 July, but we may close the opportunity earlier if enough applications are received, so do apply soon if you are interested. We look forward to hearing from you.

The meeting of the Annual Assembly of Electors is to be held on Monday 9 May 2022 at 6.00pm at Quarrington Hill Community Centre.

This is not a Parish Council meeting but is a meeting of the electorate and it has its own special agenda. The agenda for the Annual Assembly of Electors meeting on 9 May 2022 is available here.

The minutes of the last meeting of the Annual Assembly of Electors held on 1 June 2021 are available here.

The report of the Parish Council Chair and the Statement of Accounts for the Parish Council for 2021 to 22 will be available at the meeting and published online when available.

The meeting will be immediately followed by the Annual Meeting of Coxhoe Parish Council.

Residents are welcome to attend this meeting. The meeting must be held in person and there will be measures in place to cut down the risks of spreading the coronavirus, therefore numbers may be limited and those present are asked to follow any safety measures put in place.

The agenda for the Parish Council’s next Ordinary (monthly) Meeting is now available.

The meeting is to be held at Quarrington Hill Community Centre on Monday 28 March 2022. This is the Parish Council’s April meeting. The meeting is to commence at 6.30pm. The public are invited to attend.

You can access the agenda from the following link:

Agenda for the Ordinary Meeting on 28 March 2022 

A report for the Ordinary Meeting on 28 March 2022 is available.

The press and public are welcome to attend this meeting. However due to current restrictions and risk assessment related to the coronavirus pandemic, numbers in the room will be limited.

If residents wish to raise a matter, you can attend the meeting and you can also do so by emailing the Clerk at clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk  (by 12.00pm on the weekday before the meeting) who can take the matter to the meeting on behalf of the resident.

Measures will be in place to keep everyone present as safe as possible from Covid-19. No one should attend this meeting in person if they have any symptoms of coronavirus . All present will be asked to maintain social distancing of at least two metres, wear a mask while moving around and follow any directions from Parish Council staff. Everyone is encouraged to take a lateral flow test before attending.

Coxhoe Parish Council has released the tender for its grounds maintenance contract, which is due for renewal from April 2022.

Any organisation wishing to tender for the contract should familiarise themselves with the locations and requirements, and the documents below; this is the responsibility of any tenderer.

Tenders must be returned either by email or in a sealed envelope marked ‘Tender Enclosed’ to the Parish Clerk. This can be sent by post or delivered by hand to Coxhoe Village Hall, as specified in the invitation to tender document.

For any tender to be considered it must be submitted by no later than 12.00 noon on Monday 31 January  2022.

The relevant documents are:

Part 1 Invitation to Tender

Part 2 General Specification of Works

Part 3 Template Service Agreement

Part 4 Schedule of Maintenance

The Schedule of Maintenance is available in Word by contacting the Parish Clerk in good time before the closing date.

The process is run in accordance with the Parish Council’s Financial Regulations.

 

A vacancy has arisen in the office of Parish Councillor serving the Coxhoe Ward.

We have started the process of filling the post by posting a formal public notice to determine the way in which a new councillor may be appointed.

You can view the Vacancy details on the highlighted link Coxhoe Parish Council Notice Board.

 

The agenda is available for the Council’s meeting on Wednesday 6 October. The meeting is at 6.30pm upstairs at Coxhoe Village Hall.

You can access a copy of the agenda from the following link:

Agenda for the Ordinary Meeting of Coxhoe Parish Council on 6 October 2021.

A copy of the public report for the meeting will be made available.

The press and public are welcome to attend this meeting. However due to current restrictions and risk assessment related to the coronavirus pandemic, numbers in the Village Hall will be strictly limited.

If residents wish to raise a matter, you can attend the meeting and you can also do so by emailing the Clerk at clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk  (by 4.00pm on Tuesday 5 October) who can take the matter to the meeting on behalf of the resident.

Measures will be in place to keep everyone present as safe as possible from Covid-19. No one must attend this meeting in person if they have any symptoms of coronavirus or should be self-isolating. All present must maintain social distancing of at least two metres, wear a mask while moving around and follow any directions from Parish Council staff.

The draft minutes of the Ordinary meeting held on 1 September 2021 are also available.

The draft minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 22 September are available.

The Parish Council has published its Annual Return for the financial year 2020 to 2021.

This is part of the process of Auditing of the Parish Council’s Accounts for the last financial year. You can access the Annual Return and supporting Documents from the following links:

Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2020 to 2021

This includes:

Annual Return Internal Audit Completion 2020 to 2021
Annual Return Section 1 Annual Governance Statement 2020 to 2021
Annual Return Section 2 Annual Accounting Statement 2020 to 2021

Bank, Cash and Investment Reconciliation as at 31 March 2021

Trial Balance for Current Year

Explanation of significant variances

Internal Audit Report 2020 to 2021

The Annual Return and supporting documents for the year ending 31 March 2021 which are published on this website are unaudited until such time as they are approved by the Council’s external auditors:

Mazars LLP, The Corner, Bank Chambers, 26 Mosley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1DF.

C Llewelyn

Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer

A special thank you this week with it being National Volunteers Week to our volunteers with Coxhoe Cares who continue to provide support for those in our villages who have struggled due to the pandemic. Our wonderful volunteers continue to make weekly phone calls to people for a friendly chat, and do shopping as and when required.

Also a big thank you to all our brilliant volunteers with Coxhoe and Area Community Pantry and Foodbank, working out of Coxhoe Village Hall, to support residents in need and help to reduce food wastage by distributing surplus affordable food.

 

The Parish Council would like to say a special thank you to all the volunteers who have done so much in 2020 and the continued and additional support in 2021.

Thank you to you all.

 

Elections are to be held as follows:

An election is to be held of Eight Councillor(s) for Coxhoe Ward of Coxhoe Parish.

An election is to be held of Three Councillor(s) for Quarrington Hill Ward of Coxhoe Parish.

Information is below and on the Notice of Election 2021 Coxhoe Ward of Coxhoe Parish, provided by Durham County Council, and on the Notice of Election 2021 Quarrington Hill Ward of Coxhoe Parish, provided by Durham County Council.

Candidates wishing to stand in County Durham elections on Thursday 6 May 2021 can submit their nomination papers from Friday 26 March, following the publication of the notice of election today.

Nomination papers may be obtained from the offices of the Returning Officer, Room 1/104-115, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL during the times stated below, and are also available on the Nomination Papers page of Durham County Council website. Nomination papers must be delivered, by hand, to the Returning Officer, Durham Room, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL, between 10am and 4pm on any working day from Friday 26 March 2021 (excluding bank holidays) but no later than 4pm on Thursday 8 April 2021.

If any election is contested the poll will take place on Thursday, 6 May 2021.

Prospective candidates or agents may book an appointment to submit a nomination paper by contacting the Electoral Services team on 03000 261212 or by emailing electoralservices@durham.gov.uk.

Candidates are asked to remember when delivering their nomination papers to follow current coronavirus government advice of Hands, Face, Space.

Further information is available by going to www.durham.gov.uk/elections2021.