Parish Councils are funded through the parish element of your Council Tax payment which is collected by Herefordshire Council.  For the 2021-2022 year, the household council tax payment allocated to your parish council, called the Precept,  is £60,000 for the year which represents a payment of approximately 84p per week per band D household.

Each year, usually in the autumn, your Parish Council decides upon it’s Precept requirement for the forthcoming financial year which runs from 1st April to 31st March.  Like all Parish Council meetings, the meeting at which this is discussed is open to the public and your Parish Council welcomes comments and suggestions from members of the public on priorities or projects for the year.   

At the end of every financial year, Parish Council accounts are subject to both internal and external audit and an Annual Return produced which is sent for external audit in accordance with the Local Government Accounts and Audit Regulations.   Part of the Audit process entitles local residents to view the accounting documents and annual return and to question the external auditor from a set date.  This is known as the period for exercise of electors’ rights and the notice referring to this for the year ended 31st March 2020 can be found here.

The Annual Return is submitted to the External Auditors each year, following an internal audit review by an independent internal auditor.  A copy of the Annual Return can be found by clicking on the link below:

Annual Return for the financial year ending 31st March 2020 (audited)

Annual Return for the financial year ending 31st March 2019 (audited)

Annual Return for the financial year ending 31st March 2018 (audited)

Annual Return for the financial year ending 31st March 2017 (audited)

Annual Return for the financial year ending 31st March 2016 (audited)

Standing Orders

Like many organisations, the conduct of Parish Council meetings is determined by Standing Orders which are adopted by the Parish Council.  The current Standing Orders and any amendments can be found by clicking here.

Financial Standing Orders

Financial Standing Orders regulate the way in which your Parish Council spends your money.  Rules governing your Parish Council’s financial procedures can be found below

Financial Regulations

Belmont Rural Parish Council is keen to support local organisations providing local facilities and opportunities for the residents of the Parish of Belmont Rural.

If you are interested in making an application for Grant Funding for your project the Application Form and Guidance notes can be dowloaded here.

An editable Microsoft Word version is also available here.

Neighbourhood Development Plan

Your Parish Council has created a Neighbourhood Development Plan for the parish, shaping the future of our community for the next 20 years.  

What is a neighbourhood plan?

Neighbourhood plans:

• were established by the Localism Act 2011
• gives the community opportunity and responsibility to:
  • shape the places in which they live
  • decide the locations for new homes/businesses
  • get more involved in creating policies
• form part of the Local Development Plan
• deal with land use issues
• cannot be used to stop development
• must conform in general with strategic policies
• are not intended to replace Parish Plans
• are produced by Parish Councils

Neighbourhood plans generally include:

• settlement boundaries
• housing sites
• design policies
• protection of open space
• protection of important buildings
• promotion of renewable energy

Documents such as maps and various related documents culminating to the eventual completion of the plan are available below.   

Examiners Report (Examiner_Report_Belmont_Rural_Final.pdf)

Belmont Rural Parish Council Consultations

Your Parish Council has a policy of consulting with residents to guide it’s work and priorities.  This page will contain details of any current consultations and how to respond.  You can also see your Parish Council’s policy on neighbourhood consultations by clicking on the link below.

Neighbourhood Consultation Policy

External Consultations

Where consultations are being carried out by external bodies, such as Herefordshire Council or others, which may impact on residents you will find links to those consultations here.