General Information

Members of the public are very welcome to attend full Parish Council meetings. These take place on the first Tuesday of each month (excluding August). There is a 15 minute period for questions from the floor from 7.45pm-8.00pm. The maximum time any individual may have is 5 minutes.

Members of the public may also attend the sub committee meetings. Information regarding these can be seen on the Parish notice boards that are located in the High Street, outside Elizabeth House, outside Pinder Hall and outside Cookham Dean Post Office.

There is also an Annual Meeting normally during the month of April when a guest speaker is usually involved, often on a controversial issue. This meeting is then open to the public for debate on any subject they wish to raise.

Allotments can be found in Sutton Road, Alfred Major and Alleyns Lane. The cost is £10 per annum payable 1 September each year. OAPs are half price. It is possible to have half an allotment if agreed with the Clerk to the Parish Office.

CONDITIONS OF ALLOTMENT TENANCY
1. Allotments shall be held from the first day of April to the last day of March in any one year at a rate of £10 per 10 poles, payable the first day of September each year to the Council or their agent.

2. The Council shall pay all Rates and Taxes levied on the land and charge it amongst the several occupiers.

3. Every tenant shall keep his or her allotments properly cultivated by spade-husbandry, manured, free from weeds and in good condition, and shall so deliver it up at the end of his or her tenancy. He or she, may not under any circumstances underlet or assign the allotment or any portion of it.

5. Any person authorised by the Council may, at any time, enter upon the allotment for the purpose of ascertaining the state of the cultivation thereof.

6. Any notice to quit by either Council or Tenant shall be given on or before the 24th day of June in any year and shall take effect on the 27th day of September in the following year. If such notice shall not be given, the tenancy shall continue for another year provided that the conditions set out in rule 8 are observed.

7. No building, shed, or any other erection to be put up without the Council's permission in writing, and shall not measure more than 8 feet by 4 feet in area.

8. No tenant shall trespass on the holding of another, go to his allotment by any but the appointed way, or encroach upon the roadway, which must be left 8ft 6 ins wide. All paths between the allotments must be left 18 ins wide (9ins out of each allotment)

The Parish Council own fourteen acres of green space in the middle of Cookham called the Alfred Major Recreation ground. This area was left to the village in the 1940s for recreational purposes. It is now much used by Cookham Dean Football Club and also has a children's play area that can be used by children under 10 years of age.

1. The Cookham Parish Cemetery can be found off Switchback Road North. Inform the Clerk to the Parish Council at least three days prior to any interment (Monday to Friday 8.30am - 12.30pm).

2. All fees and charges due to the Council are to be paid to the Clerk, with cheques made Payable to Cookham Parish Council.

3. The selection of the plot in all cases, both of general interment and purchase, is to be subject to the approval of the Council or of their Clerk, but the wishes of applicants will be met as far as may be deemed practicable.

4. Parishioners or inhabitants of the Parish may purchase the exclusive right of burial for a period not exceeding 100 years in any grave space and may have a grant thereof according to a form approved by the Council. The like privilege will be allowed to non-parishioners on payment of additional fees as provided.

5. For adults, no grave space less than 5 feet, no other graves less than 4 feet in depth from the surface will be allowed, and none but graves purchased exclusively are to be re-opened.

6. All brick, stone, or other rubbish, shall be removed by and at the expense of the parties by whom it has been caused.

7. All memorials and inscriptions are to be subject to the approval of the Parish Council, and a copy of any inscription (if containing anything more than the name, date of death and age of the deceased) proposed to be placed in the ground, and a drawing showing the form and dimensions of every memorial proposed to be erected, must be left with the Clerk to the Council until the next meeting of the Council for approval. All memorials and tablets are to be kept in repair by the owners, except a special agreement be made with the Council, and if not repaired after due notice, may be removed by order of the Council.

8. A register of the burials will be kept at the office of the Clerk and Registrar of the Parish Council; where, at reasonable times, searches may be made, and certified extracts be obtained.

9. Persons committing injury or willful damage within the Cemetery are liable to a penalty not exceeding £20, by Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1974 (15).

10. No funerals will be allowed after 12 noon on Saturdays.

11. No bushes, flowers or ornamental shrubs may be planted in the Cemetery, except within the grave space for which exclusive rights have been granted. The planting of any flowers or shrubs on the Cremation Plot is forbidden, although flowers and shrubs may be planted in vases or containers
on a memorial tablet.

If a Councillor ceases to be qualified or becomes disqualified (for any reason other than disqualification after audit, conviction, corrupt or illegal election practices) or if he/she is absent for six consecutive months for reasons not approved by the Council, it must declare his/her office vacant. Every vacancy, whether so declared or not, must be publicly notified.

If no poll is claimed within fourteen days by 10 electors, a casual vacancy is filled by co-option and the Council must be convened for the purpose forthwith. An absolute majority of those present and voting is required to choose a new Councillor. If a poll is claimed by 10 electors, a bye election is held by poll conducted by the Returning Officer. No poll can be claimed in the six months before an ordinary election

In the event of the Council being required to fill a vacancy by co-option, the Council will carry out the procedure set out below:-

1. The Council shall convene and interview each candidate who has put his/her name forward for co-option to fill a vacancy and serve as a Councillor. The purpose for the interview is to ascertain that each candidate is lawfully qualified to serve as a Councillor and, to assess the level of interest shown by each candidate on issues which may affect the local community.

2. The Chairman shall conduct the interview under Standing Order 68, and the Statutory Resolution in relation to Standing Order 68 shall be invoked by the presiding Chairman before the interviews commence.

3. The Council shall interview each candidate separately.

4. When the interviews have been completed, the Council shall choose a candidate to fill the vacancy from the candidates who attended for interview. Voting shall be by a show of hands, or if two members of the Council so request, by signed ballot.

5. On completion of the voting, Standing Order 68 will cease to apply and the presiding Chairman shall announce the name of the candidate chosen by the Council to serve as a Councillor.

6. In the event of only one name being put forward for co-option to fill the vacancy and serve as a Councillor, the Council shall co-opt the person so named, provided he/she is lawfully qualified.

7. The candidate chosen by the Council to fill the vacancy and serve as a Councillor, must, in law, sign the “Declaration of Acceptance of Office” before being allowed to serve as a Councillor. At the same time, he/she must make a written undertaking to observe the “Code of Conduct” before the signing the “Declaration of Acceptance of Office”.

1.	Council Meetings
2.	Allotments
3.	Alfred Major Recreation Ground
4.	Cookham Parish Cemetery
5.	PROCEDURE FOR DECLARATION AND FILLING OF CASUAL VACANCIES AND SERVE AS A COUNCILLOR