Wraxall and Failand

Wraxall and Failand
All Saints Church, Wraxall
Wraxall and Failand Location within Somerset
Population	2,302 (2011) [1]
OS grid reference	ST495715
Unitary authority	North Somerset
Ceremonial county	Somerset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Bristol
Postcode district	BS8, BS48
Dialling code	01275
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	North Somerset
List of places UK England Somerset 51°26′25″N2°43′40″W / 51.4402°N 2.7279°W / 51.4402; -2.7279

Wraxall and Failand, formerly just Wraxall is a civil parish in the North Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It includes the villages of Wraxall and Failand. In 2011 it had a population of 2,302. ^[1] On 1 October 1996 the parish was renamed from "Wraxall" to "Wraxall and Failand". ^[2]

The parish contains the remains of Wraxall Camp, an Iron Age settlement that seems to have been a farmstead and is now a listed monument. ^[3] In Richard II's reign, the village was spelled Wrexhale in the record of a suspicious death.

Governance

The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, such as the village hall or community centre, playing fields and playgrounds, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also of interest to the council.

The parish falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset which was created in 1996, as established by the Local Government Act 1992. It provides a single tier of local government with responsibility for almost all local government functions within their area including local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection, recycling, cemeteries, crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. They are also responsible for education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning, although fire, police and ambulance services are provided jointly with other authorities through the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the South Western Ambulance Service.

North Somerset's area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters are in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare. Between 1 April 1974 and 1 April 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon. ^[4] Before 1974 the parish was part of the Long Ashton Rural District. ^[5]

The parish is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the North Somerset constituency. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, currently Liam Fox of the Conservative Party.

References

1. "2011 Census Profile". North Somerset Council. Archived from the original (Excel) on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
2. "North Somerset Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
3. Wraxall Camp, Historic England, retrieved 22 August 2016
4. "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". HMSO. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
5. "Long Ashton RD". A vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 January 2014.