... to Bamford and Thornhill - adjacent villages in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, around 12 miles from Sheffield.

Bamford With Thornhill Parish Council is a group of locally-elected people looking after, to the best of our ability, the interests of those living and working within Bamford and Thornhill parishes. The Council also owns and looks after small amounts of property around Bamford and Thornhill.

We, as the most local tier of government, are part of the democratic system in England. Parish Councils, in their current form, were created by the Local Government Act 1894, but we are certainly not stuck in the past! 

We usually meet on the first Monday of each month except for August, in the Bamford Village Institute at 7.30pm; the Agenda for each meeting is posted on the village notice board each month as well as on this website. Any member of the public is welcome to attend these meetings; they cannot contribute to the discussions, unless invited to do so by the Chair, but they can make a short statement at the start of the meeting about any item that is concerning them.

In addition, Bamford and Thornhill parishes each have their own separate annual Parish Meeting, where residents attend and are invited to raise matters of concern or interest.

Bamford and Thornhill

(Parish boundaries in red)

The Parish Council is a very approachable group, and villagers can and do speak to us about matters that concern them or any ideas they may have between meetings. Members of the public can also raise matters by e-mailing, telephoning or writing to the Clerk (Peter Leppard); these matters can then be brought up at the next Council meeting.

Our budget comes from the parish precept (paid by residents as part of their Council Tax) and a grant from High Peak Borough Council. We can and do donate to local charities and groups, such as the Moore Memorial Hall, Bamford Institute, Bakewell & Eyam Community Transport and Bamford with Thornhill Recreation Ground, when we receive requests for help. 

We also contribute to projects within our parishes; these projects have included improvements to Thornhill Town Well, refurbishment of Bamford Village Green and Coronation Gardens, and provision of public-access defibrillators in Thornhill's former telephone kiosk and on Main Rd in Bamford.

The Parish Council sees every planning application within our parishes submitted to the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA). We pass our comments (designed to reflect the overall local interest and hopefully influence the Authority's decisions) to PDNPA.

The above gives you just a taste of some of the Parish Council's activities; it's not a fully exhaustive list.