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The Parish Council meets regularly (other than in the summer recess) in St John the Baptist Church, Tunstall and meetings start at 7.00 p.m.

The Parish Council meetings are open to the public. The agenda for the meeting is posted on the notice boards in the Parish and also on this website. Each meeting includes a public participation section where residents can, at the Chair’s discretion, address the Council.

Agendas are available to view on our website and parish noticeboards and minutes are also available in draft form within seven days of the meeting.

From April 2022, Tunstall Parish Council had an insufficient number of councillors to hold a meeting.  At the end of July 2022, the council was informed by Swale Borough Council that there had been a temporary order issued to appoint councillors to Tunstall Parish Council until sufficient councillors are co-opted to allow the authority to arrange a meeting.  John Wright and Richard Palmer were the appointees.

We are sad to report that, due to personal reasons, Cllr Palmer is unable to continue in his role as appointed councillor to our parish council.  Swale Borough Council and the Kent Association of Local Councils were in agreement that the council could proceed with the remaining three members, however the National Association of Local Councils advice was that the parish council should adhere to the ‘six month’ rule.  Councillors have to attend a meeting of the council, or an external body meeting on its behalf, at least every six months to remain qualified.  

The implementation of the ‘six month rule’ means that Cllr Burgess cannot act as a councillor until the parish council meets to co-opt him back onto the council. 

As there are only now two members remaining, the council is unable to meet, as the minimum number of councillors required for a meeting is three.  Due to the close proximity to the next elections, Swale Borough Council will not be appointing another councillor to Tunstall Parish Council.  This means that the parish council can continue as a legal entity, fulfilling the decisions previously made, but will be unable to meet to make any new decisions until at least three councillors have been elected in May 2023.

UPDATE JANUARY 2023

When Tunstall Parish Council became inquorate again in October 2022, Swale Borough Council advised that the council shall remain so until the elections in May 2023. Since then, the Borough Council has taken the decision that Tunstall should approve a budget and precept for 2023/24.  It was felt important for Tunstall  to set the budget and precept for the next financial year to enable them to commence the new election year in a robust position.  In order to do this SBC has taken the decision to appoint two members to facilitate this process. Swale Members Cllr Mike Baldock and Cllr Mike Whiting will be appointed by legal Order, for a short period only.  The requisite meeting will be summoned to formally agree the finances for 2023/24.

UPDATE APRIL 2023

Following the announcement that only two councillors have been elected to Tunstall Parish Council, we now await news from Swale Brough Council on the next steps.  The council remains inquorate.

If you are interested in becoming a Tunstall Parish Councillor please contact [email protected].

UPDATE MAY 2023

An election has been called to fill the vacancies on the parish council, see below for the election notice.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2023

A section 91 Order was sealed on 12th December 2023 and Larissa Reed, Lee Burgess and Vivien Rich were appointed to the Council.  the next meeting will be held on 18th December 2023

UPDATE JULY 2026

The following councillors were formally co-opted to Tunstall Parish Council:

Cllr Vivien Rich

Cllr Lee Burgee

Cllr Marylyn Atkins

Cllr Nikki Caulfield

Cllr Geoff Partis

Cllr Stephen French

Notice of Election June 2023 File Uploaded: 22 May 2023 15.6 KB Tunstall Urban Uncontested Election Notice File Uploaded: 12 April 2023 191.8 KB Tunstall Rural Uncontested Election Notice File Uploaded: 12 April 2023 192.4 KB Order for temporary appointment of Councillors Jan - Feb 2023 File Uploaded: 13 January 2023 43.6 KB Order for temporary appointment of Councillors File Uploaded: 3 October 2022 43.8 KB Order for temporary appointment of Councillors File Uploaded: 13 December 2023 44.3 KB

Accessibility statement for Tunstall Parish Council

Website information

This accessibility statement applies to the Tunstall Parish Council website:

https://www.tunstallparishcouncil.gov.uk/

This website is run by Tunstall Parish Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website, regardless of their abilities or the technology they use.

For example, you should be able to:

Change colours, contrast levels and fonts using your browser or device settings.

Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen.

Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.

Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.

Listen to most of the website using a screen reader, including recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know that some parts of this website are not fully accessible. We are working to identify and address accessibility issues so that everyone can access information about the Parish Council and its services.

The known accessibility issues are detailed below under non-accessible content.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact the Parish Council.

Email:[email protected]

Please tell us:

  • The web address (URL) of the content you need.
  • The format you require.
  • Your name and contact details.

We will consider your request and aim to respond within seven days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page, or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the Parish Council using the details above.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We do not have a parish office however we can organise a meeting in the local church hall and provide a hearing loop if necessary.

If you need assistance accessing Parish Council information, please contact us and we will do our best to help.

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Tunstall Parish Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Please note: This compliance statement should only be published once the council has confirmed that this status accurately reflects the website's current accessibility.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Keyboard navigation

Our existing accessibility statement identifies that some parts of the website cannot be navigated entirely using a keyboard.

This may make it difficult for people who cannot use a mouse to access certain menus, links or other website features.

This may fail WCAG success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).

We will ask our website provider to investigate and resolve these issues.

Navigation and finding information

Our existing accessibility statement identifies that there is only one way to find information on the website.

We will review the website navigation and consider whether additional ways of locating information are required to meet WCAG success criterion 2.4.5 (Multiple Ways).

Content displayed on hover or focus

Our existing accessibility statement identifies issues with content that appears when an item receives keyboard focus.This may make it difficult for some users to access or dismiss additional content. This may fail WCAG success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus). We will ask our website provider to investigate and resolve these issues.

Page structure and ARIA

Our existing accessibility statement identifies that ARIA markup is not currently used on the website.

The absence of ARIA does not automatically mean a website is inaccessible. However, we will review the website's page structure, headings, labels and interactive elements to ensure that information and relationships are communicated correctly to assistive technologies.

This review will consider WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value), where relevant.

Other content requiring review

We will also review the following areas to identify any further accessibility problems:

  • Images and alternative text.
  • Colour contrast and text readability.
  • Links and buttons.
  • Keyboard focus indicators.
  • Forms and error messages.
  • Mobile navigation and responsive design.
  • Parish Council agendas, minutes and other PDF documents.

Any confirmed issues will be added to this statement, together with the relevant WCAG success criteria and our planned timescales for resolving them.

Disproportionate burden

The Parish Council will assess whether any accessibility issues relating to older documents, including PDFs, would constitute a disproportionate burden under the accessibility regulations.

Where content cannot reasonably be made accessible, the Council will consider providing the information in an alternative accessible format.

We will not assume that all PDF accessibility issues are exempt or constitute a disproportionate burden without carrying out an appropriate assessment.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Certain third-party content and specific types of documents may be exempt from the accessibility regulations.

Any exemptions relevant to the Tunstall Parish Council website will be identified following an accessibility review.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 1st June 2026

It was last reviewed on 1st November 2026

The website was last tested on 1st June 2026 by internal review.

The Parish Council will review this statement regularly and update it as accessibility improvements are made.