Welsh community councils are a direct replacement for earlier parish councils, under the Local Government Act 1972. Modern Community Councils carry out a wide wide range of functions covered by Westminster or Welsh Assembly legislation. A list of specific duties and powers can be found on pages 32-38 of the “Good Councillor's Guide” published by the Welsh Government in 2016.

Bishton Community Council is the first level of our local government. The elected or co-opted Councillors represent the three villages of Underwood, Bishton and Wilcrick and the surrounding rural area. We have two main roles. The first is to give grassroots advice to decision makers, notably Newport City Council (NCC), on any issues affecting the well-being of our community, including planning applications, roads, buses, crime prevention and footpaths. Our second role is to provide some discretionary services ourselves, notably: community centres, parks, exercise facilities, playing fields, and allotments.

Up until 2019/20, to fund your Council we raised money from 3 sources - an earmarked or “precepted” amount of Council Tax; an annual contribution from Newport City Council (NCC) to help pay for the services we provide; and revenue from those services (e.g. hire of Underwood Community Centre, Bishton Village Hall etc). However, NCC has now withdrawn the annual contribution and at a stroke your Council has lost £16,050 of funding. You can read more about this issue on the Latest News page of this website in the following news stories Public Meetings To Discuss Cuts To Funding and An Update Following Public Meetings To Discuss Loss Of Funding.

To meet this shortfall in funding for 2019/20, we have been forced to more than double the “precepted” amount from the Council Tax payer (Band D will now pay £26.20, compared with £1,401.77 to Newport City Council) and use some of our precious financial reserves. Therefore, the estimated annual expenditure for 2019/20 of £36,351 will be met from £20,135 “precepted” amount of Council Tax, estimated revenue of £8,126 and £8,000 from financial reserves.

The Council's monthly meetings are held in Underwood Community Centre or Bishton Village Hall on the second Wednesday of the month, unless otherwise stated. Additional meetings may be held to deal with urgent issues. All meetings are advertised on this website, and on local notice boards. Any local resident is welcome to attend Council Meetings, where you will usually be able to speak as a member of the public. Agendas and Minutes of Council meetings are available on this website. If you wish to raise a specific item on the agenda please contact the Clerk.

There are currently 8 Councillors on the Council. The next full elections are due in May 2022. Anyone living or working in the Bishton Community Council area can apply to join the council. Some restrictions apply but these are explained in the application form. Vacancies on the Council between elections may also be filled by co-opting Councillors and these are advertised on this website. The Council employs 3 staff on a part time basis: the Clerk and 1 cleaner. The Council is the leasehold owner on your behalf of Underwood Community Centre; the Underwood football fields, changing rooms & cycle track; and the park/playground in Bishton. We also have sole  freehold ownership of Bishton Village Hall and joint ownership with Langstone CC of the Underwood allotments.