All members of Great Bentley Parish Council are required by law to complete a Disclosable Pecuniary Interests form to register their financial or other interests. There are some rare circumstances where councillors may be allowed to ensure these details are not revealed to the public such as when the information could result in a serious risk of violence or intimidation to the member or his/her family.
The Register gives details of any interest that might give rise to a conflict of interest in a councillor’s duties as a parish councillor.
Councillors are obliged to keep their statutory register entry up to date.
Members are also required to list the disclosable pecuniary interests of their spouse or civil partner, or the person with whom they are living as if they were spouse or civil partner.
Each councillor must make their own judgment about whether or not they must declare a personal or pecuniary and prejudicial interest on each item to be discussed at Council meetings.
Declaration of a personal interest at a meeting.
A personal interest occurs where a Councillor or a member of their family or a close associate might benefit from a Council decision to a greater extent than the majority of other people in the Parish, and the member should not vote on the matter. Where the interest is not so great as to affect the Councillor’s judgment of the public interest, the member should not vote but may speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak at the meeting.
Declaration of disclosable pecuniary interests in meetings
A pecuniary interest occurs where a Councillor could gain or lose financially as a result of a Council decision. This could relate to goods and services which might be required by the Council and includes Councillor’s partners, spouses, relatives and close associates.
If a Councillor or voting co-opted member has a disclosable pecuniary interest in an item during a formal meeting of the Council, they must:
Declare or draw attention to their interest at the meeting;
Not participate in any discussion of the matter;
Not vote on the matter; and
Leave the room during the discussion or vote.
The declarations made at each meeting are recorded in the minutes of the meeting which are published on our website.
There are some rare circumstances where councillors may seek a dispensation which would allow them to speak and/or vote at meetings if they have a personal or pecuniary interest but individual councillors must request such dispensation from the Council’s Monitoring Officer.
It is a potential criminal offence if a member fails to comply with the rules regarding their disclosable pecuniary interests without reasonable excuse.
REGISTER OF INTERESTS
Chairman
Cllr. Pippa Dennitts has been Chair of your parish council since 2021 after serving as a parish councillor for six years. She believes in an active and proactive Parish Council and is passionate about hearing the views of all members of the community. Some of her key interests are in biodiversity, the village environment and the wider environment, plus she runs her own business and is an active member of the Bentley Green Players. Additionally, she is a charity trustee, has a pilot’s licence and along with her husband Michael, she enjoys campervanning, mountain biking and walking their dog Cocoa. Do say hello if you see them out and about!
Vice-Chairman
Vice Chair and Personnel Committee Chair is Cllr. Peter Harry, who has been a resident of Great Bentley since 2004. He and his wife Liz moved here after he retired from a career in the Royal Navy in which he served 38 years, retiring as a Commander in 2005. A Parish Councillor since 2019 he has a particular interest in Planning, Highways and Transport matters. Peter is the co-ordinator for the local Community Responder Group working with the East of England Ambulance Trust attending 999 emergency calls and recently he has joined the Village Veterans Group, which supports the veterans of all military services. You may also see him around the Green walking their black Romanian rescue dog Izzy.
Councillors
One of our longest standing councillors is Cllr. Robert Taylor who specialises in street lighting and finance. He moved to this part of the country from Peterborough to work as a Professional Engineer with Eastern Electricity and together with Janet brought up their family in the village. Now retired, there are few parts of village life where he has not taken part including Chair of School Governors and then District Councillor for 18 years. During this time, he was Chairman of the Parish Council and later the Chairman of Tendring District Council. He also supports the work of the Methodist Church and serves as a lay preacher in the Tendring area. Robert is a representative on the Tendring Older People’s Forum, has been Chairman of Great Bentley Good Neighbours since it began 40 years ago and currently serves on the Tendring District Association of local Councils on behalf of the parish council.
Cllr. George Wright and his family have lived in the parish for several generations, he is a local farm owner whose core business is growing potatoes. He has been a councillor for many years and is a member of the Green Working Group and PCSO Working Group. He supports many village activities outside of the parish council along with Parish Council projects, often lending machinery and offering his guidance to projects that the Parish Council are pursuing.
DPI 2023 – Cllr William Herbert
Cllr. William (Bill) Herbert is another long-standing councillor who along with his family before him has lived in the village his whole life. He is part of the Southside Track Working Group and PCSO Working Group, acting as a key liaison between the local communities and policing. Bill is also a member of the Finance Committee and the Chair of the Green Working Group and is instrumental in inspecting the green to try to protect it for the benefit of existing and future residents. His knowledge of the history of the Green is invaluable for the Parish Council who has the responsibility to protect it.
DPI 2023 – Cllr Frances Edwards
Our newest councillors only elected this year include Cllr. Frances Edwards who has lived in Great Bentley since 1984 and is now retired. Previously working for BT and raising her four children here, over the years as a family they have taken an active part in village life such as volunteering to help at the Village Show. She has been involved with several village organisations and currently belongs to the Wine Club and has recently rejoined the Ladies Club.
Cllr. John Wharton has lived in Great Bentley for 15 years although spending a lot of time away working in the British Army advising on the humanitarian treatment and protection of people during conflicts. As a result, he was invested as an MBE in 2019 for outstanding service to international engagement. Retiring in 2022 after a 27-year career, he is now a Change Management consultant who is passionate about community engagement and is Chair of the Environmental Working Group, a member of the Finance Committee and the project lead for the ‘Green Gym’ initiative.
There is still lots more for me to learn, but I have had a very caring and sharing welcome and I am looking forward to meeting many more of the residents of Great Bentley parish.
Cllr. Julian Jepson who has lived in Great Bentley for 5 years and is an active member of both the Cricket and Football Club, although he says his time for playing has long since past! He also works full-time mainly from home in Great Bentley. He has a keen interest in protecting our green spaces and is a member of the Parish Council’s Green Working Group and the Football Club Liaison.
The Finance Committee is chaired by Cllr. Kevin Plummer who has lived in Great Bentley all his life and is now in his third term as a parish councillor. Over 40 years ago he established his own electrical engineering business based at the village’s Plough Road Centre, which he still runs today. He has been a governor at the local school for 26 years and chair of the governors for the last 10 years. In addition, Kevin is trustee of the Village Hall and a member of the management committee, plus amongst many other village activities he is closely involved with the Christmas lights