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In addition to Dover District Council, everyone living in the district is served by a town or civic parish council. There are 32 parish council's and 3 town councils covering the district. The town and parish council's provide many local services and as the third tier of local government speak on behalf of their communities. They vary greatly in size, with a town council covering tens of thousands of people and providing a wide range of services whilst the smallest parish council can have only a few hundred people and provide a very limited number of services.

Town Councils

Town Council's are in effect large parish councils, but where as the parish council head is referred to as the 'Chairman' the town council's head is a 'Town Mayor'. The laws governing town councils are the same as for parish councils. In the district, there are three town councils - Deal, Dover and Sandwich. The town council's each maintain a permanent office with a small staff.

• List of Town and Parish Councils

Parish Councils

Parish Council's usually do not maintain a permanent office or full time staff. However, the part-time nature should not be taken as any indication of the effectiveness and efficiency of the council, as parish councils usually work very hard for their local community and can provide a wide range of services.

Parish Clerks

Town and Parish Council's will appoint a Clerk to carry out and record the council's decisions and other staff as necessary. Council's have to meet at least four times a year, including the Annual General Meeting plus the annual parish or town meeting where they can be questioned by their local electors. The meetings of town and parish council's must admit the public although for certain restricted items they may exclude them. The agenda's for the meetings will indicate if any items are to be considered as a restricted item.

Dover District Annual Parish Conference

Every autumn the district council holds a conference involving the districts town and parish council's. The minutes and agendas for these meetings can be found on the website.

Contact:

E-Mail: townsandparishes@dover.gov.uk
Tel: 01304 872304