Town Council Meetings

General Information

Town Council meetings are mostly held on Tuesday evenings and begin at 7:00pm.

The Town Council holds or arranges four types of meeting during the course of the municipal year (running from 1 April to 31 March).

Ordinary Meetings are the normal routine meetings of the Council, its Committees and Sub-Committees which deal with a full range of day to day business matters.

Extraordinary Meetings or Special Meetings as the Town Council usually call them, are meetings arranged outside the normal meeting schedule to consider specific topics or issues that have arisen, sometimes at short notice. The agenda format for these meetings is different in that it doesn’t usually contain the routine and standard items that are listed for consideration at ordinary meetings.   

The Annual Meeting is a meeting which must by law be held in the month of May. The Town Mayor and Deputy Town Mayor are appointed at this meeting. 

The  Town Council also sets the date for the Annual Public Meeting which is a meeting for town electors and is usually called by the Chairman of the Council each year between 1 March and 1 June. 

Click here for the Annual Public Meeting Procedure Guide and Town Mayor’s Report 2019

(the most recent report written, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic)

Click here for the Town Council’s Meeting Schedule for 2023-24

Committees and Sub-Committees

The Town Council currently operates two committees, a General Purposes Committee and a Planning Consultative Committee, as well as five Sub-Committees (whose parent committee is the General Purposes Committee).

All Councillors are currently members of the General Purposes Committee and Planning Consultative Committee.  The membership of these committees, including the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen, is determined at the Town Council’s Annual Meeting in May.   

Membership of the sub-committees, including the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen, are appointed annually at the General Purposes Committee in May. 

The sub committees consist of seven members, or any other number as determined by the General Purposes Committee, drawn from the membership of the Town Council. In addition, the Town Mayor and the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee are ex-officio members of all committees and sub-committees as set out in Standing Orders.

Both committees and sub-committees appoint working groups which confirm their membership annually at the first meeting of each committee or sub-committee, after the General Purposes Committee in May.

Click here for the Terms of Reference for each of the Town Council’s Committees and Sub-Committees.

Further details on the committees and sub-committees are below:

Committees

General Purposes Committee

Main responsibilities: To consider policy issues in relation to, and to scrutinise the operation of, all aspects of Council work which can be legally delegated by the Council.

Membership: All Members

Chairman: Councillor R. Kenney

Vice Chairman: Councillor I. Fordham

Steering Groups: Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, Stone Heritage Centre Steering Group (see details below)

Working Groups:

  • Engagement with Young People Working Group (Membership: Councillors: J. Battrick, A. Best, K. Dawson and J. Powell)
  • 50th Anniversary of Stone Town Council Working Group: (Membership: Councillors: J. Davies, L. Davies, K. Dawson, R. Kenney and P. Leason) 
Planning Consultative Committee

Main responsibilities: To consider planning applications within the Town Council area and make comments to Stafford Borough appropriately, and to consider policy issues in relation to planning applications. 

Membership: All Members

Chairman: Councillor T. Kelt

Vice Chairman: Councillor C. Thornicroft

Working Groups: None

Sub-Committees

Environment Sub-Committee

Main Responsibilities: To consider policy issues in relation to, and to scrutinise the operation of, environmental services provided by the Town Council and to make recommendations to the General Purposes Committee accordingly. 

Membership: Councillors: R. Townsend (Chairman), T. Kelt (Vice Chairman), J. Battrick, A. Burgess, K. Dawson, B. Kenney, J. Metters, J. Powell and N. Powell 

Working Groups:

  • Environmental Working Group (Membership: All Members of the Environment Sub-Committee). 
Estates Sub-Committee

Main Responsibilities: To consider policy issues in relation to, and to scrutinise the operation of, the physical building and infrastructure assets provided by the Town Council and to make recommendations to the General Purposes Committee accordingly. 

Membership: Councillors: J. Powell (Chairman), A. Best (Vice Chairman), J. Battrick, L. Davies, I. Fordham, J. Hood, P. Leason, A. Mottershead, N. Powell and C. Thornicroft.

Working Groups: None

Tourism & Town Promotion Sub-Committee

Main Responsibilities: To consider policy issues in relation to, and to scrutinise the operation of, tourism and town promotion services provided by the Town Council and to make recommendations to the General Purposes Committee accordingly. 

Membership: Councillors: Councillor Mrs J. Hood (Chairman), A. Mottershead (Vice Chairman), A. Best, A. Burgess, K. Dawson, B. Kenney, P. Leason, J. Powell and C. Thornicroft. Co-opted Member: Mr J. Cook.

Working Groups:

  • Remembrance Plaques Working Group (Membership: Councillors: J. Davies, L. Davies and P. Leason).
  • Market Strategy Working Group (Membership: J. Davies, J. Hood, R. Kenney, A. Mottershead and C. Thornicroft. Also J. Cook (Co-opted Member)
  • 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings Working Group (Membership: J. Davies)
Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group

Main Responsibilities: To oversee the preparation of the the Council’s Neighbourhood Plan, and to make recommendations to the General Purpose’s Committee accordingly.

Membership: Councillors: No Members appointed.

Working Groups: None

Stone Heritage Centre Steering Group

Main Responsibilities: To develop the internal layout of the Heritage Centre and to determine the future use of the Heritage Centre.

Membership: Councillors: J. Davies, J. Hood, R. Kenney (Chairman), P. Leason (Vice Chairman), Mr S. Nuttall (Co-opted Member), S. Booth (Co-opted Member), T. Cockin (Co-opted member), H. Frost (Co-opted member).

Working Groups: None

Mayor’s Charity Sub-Committee

Main Responsibilities: To support the Town Mayor in determining appropriate Charites, raising funds and distributing those funds to the chosen charities. 

Membership: Councillors:  J. Davies (Chairman), R. Townsend (Vice Chairman), L. Davies, I. Fordham, T. Kelt, R. Kenney, J. Metters and J. Powell.

Working Groups: None

Charity Trusts

The Town Council administers the following charity trusts: 

Town Hall Charity Trust

Work and Aims: The Town Hall Charity was created when the old Town Hall was sold and a number of other town charities were combined. A proportion of the proceeds of the sale was put towards the purchase of the Frank Jordan Centre and the remaining balance has increased in value over the years following its investment and regular receipt of dividends. The fund can only be spent for charitable purposes on items (goods and services) that would benefit the people of the town and surrounding areas.  

Membership: All Councillors are Trustees

Richard Vernon Trust

Work and Aims: This trust was established in 1961 to finance the provision and maintenance of seats in public places. 

Membership: The scheme provides for the appointment of three trustees by the Council for a period of four years each. Trustees can, but need not, be members of the Council and can be re-appointed for a second or subsequent term.

Members: J. Davies, P. Leason and J. Powell

Three Members serve for a four year term. Any member appointed as a trustee that subsequently loses or resigns their seat on the Council would continue to be a trustee until the end of their four year term unless they made a personal decision to resign.

Representatives to Outside Bodies

Town Councillors are appointed as representatives on the management committees of a number of outside organisations including community groups and charities. Appointments are made at the General Purposes Committee meeting in May.

Stone ATC

Councillors: Town Mayor and one vacancy

(Mayor plus 1 member)

Age Concern Stone & District

Councillor: J. Davies and C. Thornicroft 

(Two members)

Stafford & Stone Access Group

Councillor T. Kelt

(One Member)

Trustees of the Town Hall Charity 

All Councillors

Stone Community Hub Group

Councillors: J. Battrick, J. Hood and J. Powell

Stone Area Parish Liaison Group

Councillor J. Davies

NOTE: Current membership of the following bodies will continue until the stated dates, or until retirement by an individual member, even if the member ceases to be members of the Council.

Stone Common Plot Trustees

Councillor C. Thornicroft (to May 2026)

Councillors: A. Burgess, J. Hood, T. Kelt and R. Townsend (to May 2027)

(Each Member serves for a four year term)

Richard Vernon Trust

Members: J. Davies, Mrs L. Davies and J. Powell (to 2027)

(Members serve for a four year term)

SPCA Executive Committee 

T. Kelt (to December 2025)

(One Member is elected for a two year term)

Stone Traders’ Group Directors’ Meeting

Councillors: A. Burgess, I. Fordham, J. Hood and T. Kelt

(Each Councillor to attend on a rotating basis).

Standing Orders

The Town Council annually reviews and adopts Standing Orders to regulate its business and proceedings.

The most recent version was adopted on 7 March 2023. Click here for further details: Standing Orders.

Public Participation Scheme

Members of the public are welcome to attend all meetings of the Council as observers and/or to make representations in accordance with the Council’s scheme of public participation.

NOTE: Due to the pending by-election for the Stonefield and Christchurch Ward, the Town Council’s Public Participation Scheme is currently suspended.

Click here for the Public Participation Scheme

The details are also displayed on the Council’s notice boards in town.