Kent is a shire (non-metropolitan) county, so residents have three tiers of representation at the parish, borough and county level. Responsibility for providing different services is divided between these three tiers.

• Wye parishioners can elect up to nine parish councillors to represent them. (Click on the blue bar above for information)
• Parish councillors are elected representatives and therefore hold a public office, with legal duties and obligations. As such, councillors are not employees, nor are they volunteers, although they are not paid for their time.

Are you considering standing as a candidate for co-option, or at the next parish council election in May 2027? If so, please download independent Electoral Commission guidance here, and watch short cameo videos. These show how varied and flexible the role is, and how individuals from all walks of life are making a change in their local community.

Vacancies can arise either following a four-yearly local election, if there are insufficent nominated candidates to fill all the available seats, or as a casual vacancy between elections. This occurs whenever a councillor resigns, dies or becomes disqualified. In these circumstances the Parish Council has an open and straightforward process in place. First the casual vacancy will be advertised. Candidates will be checked for their legal eligibility to stand for co-option e.g. they are aged over 18 and are either British, Commonwealth or EU citizens, and confirm that they can meet at least one of the other four qualifications. The Parish Council will then fill the vacancy by a majority vote on a resolution to co-opt at a meeting in public, if there is no call for a by-election.

Please contact the Parish Clerk for information, or to register your interest.

The staff and contract team work together to deliver a growing range of services for Wye residents. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the Clerk has worked from home.

You can contact the Parish Clerk and other staff either by email here, or by phone 01233 812459 (answerphone), or in writing to: Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council, Former Methodist Church, Bridge Street, Wye TN25 5DP

Wye Parish Council is a Living Wage Employer, and was one of the first parish councils in the country to be accredited.

By law, every parish council must appoint a proper officer to act on behalf of the council, to discharge all the council's statutory duties and responsibilities. In Wye, and indeed most other parish councils, the Parish Clerk acts as both the Proper Officer and Responsible Finance Officer (RFO). In Wye the Clerk is supported by a Deputy Clerk, (who also acts as the Burial Clerk). Both posts are part-time.

The Parish Council is the statutory burial authority for the parish of Wye with Hinxhill.

Alongside other duties, the Deputy Clerk (and Burial Clerk) is responsible for keeping the statutory Burial Records, grants burial rights, and memorial permissions. The Burial Clerk is also the first point of contact for parish residents, the Parochial Church Council (PCC), undertakers, gravediggers and stonemasons.

Although the Parish Council's burial ground is adjacent to the churchyard, it is non-denominational.

Richard Sinden is the Wye Community Warden. He is employed by Kent County Council, but works closely with the Parish Council, Our Place Wye and other local organisations. He also has a direct line to Kent Police. Richard varies his hours from week to week, but he is out and about in the village between 07.30 and 22.00 every day.

The Parish Council supports a number of voluntary roles with training, equipment and public liability and personal accident insurance cover for the volunteers. (The roles include Allotment Warden, Footpath Warden; Lighting Warden; Litter Warden; Play Area Warden; Public Open Spaces Warden; River Warden and Tree Warden).

The Parish Council also supports the team of Wye Flood Wardens, who have support and access to free training within the Kent Resilience Forum training and accreditation scheme.

Thanks to the time and skills given by these parish volunteers for their community the Parish Council is able to cover some of the gaps in the services formerly provided by other tiers of local government and statutory agencies.