Parish meeting
A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with statutory powers, and electing a chairman and clerk to act on the meeting's behalf. Every parish in England has a parish meeting. Function Parish meetings are a form of direct democracy, which is uncommon in the United Kingdom, which primarily uses representative democracy. In England, the annual parish meeting of a parish with a parish council must take place between 1 March and 1 June, both dates inclusive, and must take place no earlier than 6pm. In areas where there is a parish council, the chairman of the parish council shall chair the parish meeting, and the parish meeting has none of the powers listed in the next section of this article. It acts only as an annual democratic point of communication. Powers where there is no parish council In areas with no parish council, the parish meeting has the following powers: Allotments: a parish meeting may hold and administer allotments for cultivation