Shafton Parish Council – About Us

Shafton Parish Council was established in 1895. The first parish meeting was convened at seven o’clock in the evening 11th February 1895. In a room of the Board School (now No 20 Hawthorne Street) While Shafton is well known for its ties to the mining industry it has a long history in agriculture. The village lies in South Yorkshire to the north of Barnsley where it is ideally located for workers to commute to Wakefield, Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham.

The Parish Council owns and is responsible for the community centre in the recreation grounds. It also leases and is responsible for the maintenance and up keep of the recreation grounds and facilities. Which can be hired at very competitive rates. The parish Council manages 22 plots on the allotment site to the rear of The Green View Shafton. The allotments are all currently allocated but please contact the clerk if you wish to be placed on the waiting list.

There are 9 voluntary Parish Councillors who make up the Parish Council, and they know the village intimately. Their role includes representing the residents’ views to other authorities such as the Borough Council on issues such as planning, and also lobbying for improvements to highways, and road safety etc.

The Parish Councillors also determine and set policies for the social, cultural, welfare and environmental needs of Parish residents and they employ a Clerk to implement the various policies.

If you need to contact the Parish Council please use the general contact information on the contact page.

General Information

Parish Councils are the most un-bureaucratic and very much the cheapest kind of local authority. They receive no general government grant (unlike Borough Councils) so raise the majority of their income from a precept, a small tax that is levied on all properties within the village as part of the council tax.

A Parish Council has a number of powers in order to carry out its functions to improve the quality of village life for its parishioners. Although, with a small tax base (unlike the larger villages/towns) Shafton Parish Council, along with most small villages, is limited in what it can achieve.

Shafton Parish Council has 10 meetings a year which members of the electorate are invited to attend. These are held on the last Monday of each month at seven o’clock in the evening at the community centre in the recreation ground.  Details of all these meetings are displayed on the Parish noticeboards and web site. It is vital that the community acknowledges, understands and supports the Parish Council. To this end, provision is made at all regular meetings of the Council for questions to be put by members of the public and responses to be made. A Parish Council’s expenditure must be made in accordance with Acts of Parliament. Its accounts must be made public to parishioners and they are strictly audited annually by Government appointed auditors.

Parish Council Policies and Guide Information

• The Good Councillor’s Guide to Finance and Transparency
• Shafton Parish Council Financial Regulations adopted 14 September 2020
• Shafton Parish Council Financial Risk Assessment adopted 14 September 2020
• Health and Safety Shafton Parish Council Policy statement adopted 12 October