History of the Little Clacton Parish Council
The first Parish Council Meeting was held in the Old School (now the art studio) on 1st January 1895 with seven councillors elected consisting of four farmers, one publican, one carrier and one pork butcher. (Today there are 13.) A Parish Clerk was elected, a Mr. Eldred, his total salary being £17.10p. The first meeting did not attract much attention from parishioners, only two present and this seems to have set the subsequent pattern up to the present day accept when matters of public concern are on the agenda.
It was not until 1925 that three ladies were nominated to join the council for the first time. (They were not successful.) For a further 20 years it continued to be men only but in 1945 our first lady councillor, a Mrs. Grace Wagstaff, joined them and in 1994 Miss Nora Pannell was elected as the first lady chairman. Today it is much more evenly balanced.
Over the years the range of the council activities have increased. From being a public health body it has become involved directly or indirectly in nearly every local concern, has served as a means of communication between the parishioners and other authorities. From time to time committees have been appointed to deal with specific areas.
Meetings were transferred to Engaines School when it was opened in 1914 and to the Village Hall in 1967. Today it meets at the Youth and Community Centre (part of the Parish fields complex) on the first Monday in the month generally at 7.30pm. Here are a few dates taken from past minutes:
1920s Roads tarred for the first time.
1920s Main water scheme laid. (Taking over from pumps.)
1930s Completed the laying on of electricity.
1940s Part street lighting.
1950s Main drainage.
1993 By-pass started. (This was first mentioned in 1928.)
Hubbard and Harvey Charities
One of the first items to receive attention from the newly formed Parish Council (1894) was the Hubbard’s Charity, a farm of twenty six acres that was situated on the border of St. Osyth. The rent of the farm, for three hundred years, had been expended for the benefit of poor parishioners.
Under the Parish Council the charity ran smoothly but then in 1944 they offered the farm for sale for the sum of £640.
Shortly after the sale Councillor Harvey gave a gift of £100. Hence this fund became known as the Hubbard & Harvey Charity. This is still functioning today.