Parish Council

Brenchley Parish Council represents the residents in the villages of both Matfield and Brenchley and has nine Councillors. Parish Councillors are all unpaid volunteers who give up their time to help administer the Parish within which they live. Elections are held every four years and most residents are eligible for nomination.

The Council normally meets twice a month at either Brenchley Memorial Hall or Matfield Village Hall. Members of the public are welcome to attend and each meeting has a public question time. The date of the next meeting is given at the top of this page. The minutes of Council meetings are published on the website on the PC minutes page and relevant Council documents can also be viewed on the PC documents page.

The Parish Council raises money from the Borough, in our case Tunbridge Wells, by way of a precept, which is spent throughout the Parish to maintain facilities, to try and ensure the welfare of the local community and to preserve the nature and essence of our historic and picturesque villages.

It is a link between the residents of the Parish and the Borough. Planning Applications in particular are a focus for the Council who, although not having any powers of veto, provide advice to the Borough based on local knowledge and this advice goes into the pot of voices for consideration before a decision is made.

The Council owns land within the Parish such as the village green in Matfield, the “Drying Ground” opposite, the playground in Brenchley and the playing field in Petteridge just as examples. Most of this land has been “gifted” to the Parish by generous benefactors over many decades. These public places all need maintaining for the benefit of the Parish. A Cricket match on a summer’s day in Matfield provides a snapshot of what the quintessential English village should look like and attracts many visitors. It is only possible because of the generosity and public spirit of some of our locals. The Council is also responsible for the upkeep of the War Memorials in both villages and employs contractors to mow the many acres of grass it owns each year.

The Parish Council has also been actively campaigning over many years to increase the stock of local affordable housing. This is a daunting task considering the scarcity of available sites, the price of land and the many conflicts of opinions and interests that exist locally. Land has now been identified in Matfield for six homes and the Council is continuing to work with Town and Country Housing Group, a preferred Housing Association of the Borough, to identify and acquire a suitable site in Brenchley.

Private individuals in a democracy have wide freedoms of action restrained only by laws for the social good. Councils however do not have those freedoms and are regulated bodies. In essence a Parish Council can only do something if there is an Act of Parliament permitting it to do so. The Parish Council endeavours to do the best for its residents within the constraints placed upon it and to get the best value from the limited funds available.

Parish Councillors  Council Minutes  Council Documents  Planning