Spelsbury Parish Council
Information about Spelsbury Parish Council
Parish Councils have an overall responsibility for the well-being of their local community and are a vital link to district and county councils and other agencies on local issues. The Parish Council’s work falls into three main categories:
- representing the local community
- delivering services to meet local needs
- striving to improve the quality of life in the parish
Parish Councils funding comes primarily through the precept, a local rate which is collected here in Spelsbury by West Oxfordshire District Council as part of the council tax.
Councillors
Spelsbury Parish Council has six elected members, the next election will occur in May 2028.
Graham Beacham – graham.beacham@spelsbury-pc.gov.uk – Vice-Chair
Lead Councillor: Spelsbury Memorial Hall
Jack Blackwell – jack.blackwell@spelsbury-pc.gov.uk – Chair of the Council
Johanna Harvey – johanna.harvey@spelsbury-pc.gov.uk
Richard Heelas – richard.heelas@spelsbury-pc.gov.uk
Lead Councillor: Spelsbury Memorial Hall – Cllr Beacham
There are two vacancies.
The Council holds a Gifts and Hospitality Register for councillors.
Responsibilities
Committees
Staffing Committee:
Members: Cllr Beacham, Cllr Heelas, Cllr Lambert
Working Groups
There are no working groups.
Vacancies
There are two vacancies.
Election
The next election is in May 2028.
Clerk
The Clerk is Anne Ogilvie.
Contact: clerk@spelsbury-pc.gov.uk
Telephone: 07712 003627
Address: 6 Manor Court, Chadlington, Oxon OX7 3LW.
The Clerk works part-time, 24 hours flexibly per month.
Meetings
The council usually meets at Spelsbury Memorial Hall at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of alternate months (January, March, May, July, September, November); agendas and minutes are posted on this website as well as on Parish noticeboards. Meetings are open to the public, who are always welcome to attend.
Annual Parish Meeting
The last Annual Parish Meeting was held on Tuesday 17 June 2025 at Spelsbury Memorial Hall.
Spelsbury Parish Council Action Plan
Action Plan 2026-2027 (PDF, 234 KB)
Members’ interests
Details of members interests can be found on the West Oxfordshire District Council’s website, West Oxfordshire District Council – Parish council – Spelsbury Parish Council (westoxon.gov.uk)
Spelsbury Parish Council has responsibilities for various local amenities, which include:
-
- the children’s playground at Chadlington Road, Spelsbury
- public benches
- public notice boards
- keeping salt bins filled for winter road safety
- a movable speed indication device
- parish funds
The Parish Council is a statutory consultee on planning matters – it does not have decision making powers and does not offer advice on planning issues.
The Parish Council also reports to the relevant organisations any issues and problems that Councillors or residents have concerns about, such as:
- potholes, road markings or street signage issues, overgrown vegetation obstructing highways – responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council (opens in new tab) (OCC) and its Highways Dept.
Residents can also report directly to OCC Highways via email highway.enquiries@oxfordshire.gov.uk or by telephone on 0845 310 1111. Problems that are the responsibility of OCC can also be reported via http://fixmystreet.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ (opens in new tab) - footpath matters, such as broken stiles, obstructed footpaths. Local footpaths – responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council Countryside Dept. Details of all Spelsbury footpaths can be found on OCC Definite Statement footpaths (opens in new tab)
- road name signs, household waste and recycling collections – responsibility of West Oxfordshire District Council (opens in new tab)
- housing – to either Cottsway Housing Association (opens in new tab) who manage social housing in Spelsbury or West Oxfordshire District Council who are responsible for housing development through the Local Development Framework (opens in new tab) and its Local Plan
- with Thames Valley Police on matters such as speeding, anti-social behaviour and crime prevention
- with the local churches and the Diocese of Oxford
- with local landowners and residents over individual matters
Spelsbury Parish is within the District of West Oxfordshire (opens in new tab) (WODC)
Our District Councillor is Nigel Ridpath
email: nigel.ridpath@westoxon.gov.uk
email: liz.leffman@oxfordshire.gov.uk (opens in new tab)
Tel: 01608 810153 Mobile 07741 073088
Spelsbury Parish is within the Parliamentary constituency of Banbury