Bracknell Town Council in Action

Bracknell Town Council is comprised of 27 councillors representing 12 Wards (their contact details are on the Councillors' page).  Councillors are elected every 4 years, the last elections having been in May 2011.  The Council is served by a Town Clerk, the senior officer of the Town Council, and approximately 30 other full time and part time staff, the majority of whom work to maintain the outdoor spaces and play areas for which the Town Council is responsible.

All 27 Councillors provide their services on a voluntary basis and do not receive any salary or allowances, although they are entitled to claim for travelling expenses where their duties require travel (currently less than £200 claimed in total for 2010/11). The Mayor receives a small allowance (£620 in 2010/11) to assist with Mayoral duties.

The Council is chaired by the Town Mayor who is elected each year at the Annual Meeting in May.  At the Annual Meeting Town Councillors are voted in to serve on a number of committees which consider planning, recreation and environment, finance and personnel issues.  Other working groups will also be formed to make recommendations in relation to matters of local relevance and importance e.g. youth work and health and safety.

The Town Council has the opportunity to comment on all Planning applications within the Bracknell Town area prior to their being considered by the Bracknell Forest Borough Council Planning Committee, where the final decisions on permission are made.

Recreation and Environment issues are regularly considered e.g. the provision of new play areas.  The Town Council may also be consulted on proposals regarding environmental improvements in the local area and other matters of interest to the people of Bracknell Town.  The Recreation and Environment Committee is also responsible for overseeing the Town Council’s works programme.  Due to the nature of its primary responsibilities Recreation issues are of vital importance to the Council and the management of the recreation grounds and play areas and establishing future work plans for play area renewal and refurbishment are vital committee responsibilities.

A committee with Finance responsibility agrees and monitors the Town Council’s budget and advises on issues of financial management, whilst another with Personnel responsibility meets on an ad hoc basis to consider human resources issues, to appoint senior staff and appraise the Town Clerk.

The Planning Committee meets regularly throughout the year, and the other major committees meet 6 times a year.  All Councillors meet at Full Council (held 6 times a year) to ratify the decisions made by the Council’s delegated committees.

Members of the public are welcome to attend all Council meetings; the agendas for these meetings are available from the Town Council’s website www.bracknelltowncouncil.gov.uk or on request to Brooke House.  Meetings are held at 7.30pm (Planning 6.30pm) on Tuesday evenings in the Council Chamber at Brooke House, access is via the High Street.  The schedule of meetings can be found on the Town Council’s website or on the notice board outside Brooke House.

Day to day management of the services delivered by the Town Council is the responsibility of the Town Clerk who works closely with Councillors to deliver the decisions made at the various committees.  The work of the Town Council is funded through a precept on Council Tax payers within the Bracknell Town Parish area, and from income raised through letting out the Council’s sports pitches, rooms and other facilities as well as from trading in the Pavilion coffee shops.

A budget for the forthcoming financial year (starting in April) is set in December when projects are identified for the coming year.  These projects will likely include refurbishment and replacement of play equipment, improvements to Town Council facilities and the possible development of new initiatives for the benefit of local people, which the Town Council has the power to deliver.  At the same time as setting the budget an allocation is made in the form of grants to local organisations who have applied through the Annual Grant Scheme.  The Town Council’s budget for 2009/10 was £1.6m.

The Town Council works closely with Bracknell Forest Borough Council and Bracknell Forest Homes to try to ensure as seamless a service as possible to local residents, but this is sometimes difficult given the complexity of the land holding and environmental responsibilities of the two organisations.  Regrettably on occasions people may feel they are passed backwards and forwards between the two organisations.  This can be avoided if callers are very specific about their query and the geographical area they are interested in.  The Town Council and the Borough Council meet formally on a quarterly basis to discuss items of mutual interest in addition to ad hoc meetings covering specific topics such as trees, parks and open spaces.

Councillor representatives are appointed yearly to act as liaison with various outside bodies such as Community Associations and Neighbourhood Action Groups, and also to local organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau, Youthline and Berkshire Association of Local Councils.   A full list of bodies having Councillor representives can be seen on the Council Structure page.

Bracknell Town is twinned with Leverkusen in Germany. The Town Council has a close relationship with Bracknell Twinning Association, visit the Twinning page for more details.