Welcome to Tankersley Parish Council

Tankersley is a beautiful rural village in South Yorkshire; it is located West of Barnsley, East of Penistone and North of Sheffield. The village is co-joined with Pilley, and both villages were in existence at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086. The village is ideally placed for workers to commute to Barnsley, Sheffield, Doncaster, Leeds, given its close proximity to the M1, M62 and M18 Motorways, Manchester is only 45 minutes away via the A616 and A628.

The village has strong links to the mining communities of Barnsley, and several mines operated in the locality, Wharncliffe Silkstone Colliery being the closest, and the village of Pilley still has many houses built by the colliery, alongside more modern housing developments. The Wentworth Park industrial estate is close by providing some local jobs for the area.

The historic Church of St Peters serves the village, along with a more recent St Pauls Church and a Methodist Chapel. St Peters Church, sits in a well wooded churchyard at one of the highest points in the village and was in existence before the Domesday Survey of 1086. There are several listed buildings in the village, and the film “Kes” by Barry Hines was part filmed at Rockley Old Hall.

The village is 2 miles away from the Wentworth Castle House and Gardens which featured in the BBC “restoration” programme, and near the RSPB “Old Moor Wetlands” wild life centre. Local shops and Markets, in the neighbouring village of Hoyland are a few minutes away, but the vast Meadow Hall Shopping Mall is 10 minutes away.

The Role of the Parish Council

The Parish Council is a small local authority and today its role is more important than ever.

It is the closest tier of local government to the people. Tankersley has eleven voluntary Councillors who are elected for four years. The Parish Councillors know the village intimately, and represent its views to other authorities such as the Borough Council.

The Council is entitled to be consulted on planning applications and to put the Parish’s case to public inquiries. It is always lobbying for improvements in highways, road safety etc.

The Parish Councillors determine and set policies for the social, cultural, welfare and environmental needs of Parish residents and they employ a Clerk to implement the various policies.

Parish Councils are the most un-bureaucratic and very much the cheapest kind of local authority. They receive no general government grant (unlike Borough Councils) so raise the majority of their income from a precept, a small tax that is levied on all  properties within the village as part of the council tax.

A Parish Council has a surprising number of powers in order that it can carry out its functions to improve the quality of village life for its parishioners. Although, with a small tax base (unlike the larger villages/towns) Tankersley Parish Council, along with most small villages, is limited in what it can achieve.

Tankersley Parish Council has, eleven meetings a year, which are held on the third Monday of each month within the Welfare Hall.  Details of all these meetings are displayed on the Parish noticeboards and web site. It is vital that the community acknowledges, understands and supports the Parish Council. To this end, provision is made at all regular meetings of the Council for questions to be put by members of the public and responses to be made.

A Parish Council’s expenditure must be made in accordance with Acts of Parliament. Its accounts must be made public to parishioners and they are strictly audited by Government appointed auditors.

Parish and town councils should maintain a close relationship with the local community. The public are encouraged to be observers at the council meetings, as they are obliged to arrange at least one meeting for the parish or town council each year. Local electors may attend as they may raise issues of concern.