How the Council works
The Town Council has 13 Town Councillors elected for a term of four yearsHow The Council Works at Filton
The Town Council has 13 Town Councillors elected for a term of four years. The last Town Council elections were held in May 2023. The Councillors are split into three wards: Charborough (Three Councillors), Northville (Five Councillors) and Conygre (Five Councillors). There are also two elected Councillors to South Gloucestershire Council who represent Filton’s interests at this level.
The Civic Year runs from May to April with the election of the Chair/Mayor and the Deputy taking place at the Annual Statutory Meeting in May. These roles are filled by councillors who have been nominated and voted for by their councillor colleagues. The Town Councillors are unpaid, and do not receive any attendance allowance or payments for their duties, in which they run to undertake on a purely voluntary basis.
Standing Orders
Standing Orders is an easy-to-understand comprehensive guide on the legal, financial, administrative and governance aspects of running a local council. This guidance is an essential tool for established or new councillors and officers involved in this tier of local government, for more information please see the following documents :
Standing Orders
Standing order front cover 2019
What is a Parish or Town Council?
A full explanation of what a Parish or Town Council actually is, can be found in the following document: Guide To Parish & Town Councils.
Filton Town Council Structure
Full Council – The Town Council meets approximately 11 times a year and has three main committees and ad hoc sub committees that meet as required (e.g Elm Park Working Group). These committees make decisions under their remitted powers or make recommendations for ratification by full Council. Subject matters are brought before Council by means of the Agenda, which is issued a minimum of three clear days before a meeting and is posted on this website.
Full Council (Finance & general purposes) (inc. planning) – The Full Council (Finance & General Purpose) meetings meet approx. 11 times a year and makes decisions and recommendations to Full Council on all financial and policy matters under the discretion of the Town Council. This committee also is responsible for Personnel matters and will be responsible for Best Value. Planning Applications come to this meeting at the request of a resident of Councillor, recommendations from these meetings on Filton planning applications are sent to the Planning Authority (South Gloucestershire Council) who considers all associated planning, footpath and licensing issues.