The Parish Council is made up of 9 residents from within the Parish (the Parish being the villages of Swallowfield, Riseley, Farley Hill and the hamlet of Stanford End). Councillors do not receive a salary of any sort.
The first Chairman of the Parish in 1894 was Sir George Russell Bart MP of Swallowfield Park.

An election is held every four years and if 9 candidates are not elected, then the Parish Council may co-opt members to make the number up.
The Parish Council meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month and in between these meetings the P C Planning Committee meets.

The Parish Council has substantial liquid assets and its accounts are available once a year for members of the public to inspect, prior to the annual audit. Notice of when and where the accounts may be viewed is displayed on the Parish Council's notice boards.

The Parish Council owns land and a number of properties, including two village halls, two recreation grounds, one sports club and the Parish Stores.
The Parish Council's office is attached to Swallowfield Parish Hall and the Clerk can be contacted there (tel: 9885929).

The Parish Council is limited in what it may do and has to strictly keep within its powers. Such powers include the ability to:

    - provide buildings for public meetings, assemblies or community usage
    - acquire land for recreational purposes, allotments, open space or common pastures
    - deal with ponds and ditches
    - provide entertainment and support of the arts
    - maintain and repair public footpaths (but not footways) and bridleways
    - provide lights to roads and public places
    - provide roadside seats, shelters and litterbins
    - provide traffic signs and other notices
    - plant trees and maintain roadside verges
    - provide burial grounds, cemeteries, monuments and memorials

The Parish Council is notified by the Wokingham Borough Council of all planning applications and is expected to comment on them. However the Parish Council does not have the authority to permit or refuse an application and this is done either by the Borough Council's officers or it may be referred to the WBC Planning Committee (made up of WBC Councillors) but is always accompanied by an officer recommendation to either grant or refuse the application.

The Parish Council exists to provide a link with other authorities, such as the Borough Council and the County Council, and because all Parish Councillors live locally it has the benefits of knowledge of the area and links with other residents. This means that it can be a focal point where local issues can be raised, discussed and acted upon.

The members of the Council work hard on behalf of residents in this Parish and become involved, not only in local issues, but also those wider matters which will eventually affect everybody - such as the provision of low cost housing, security and vandalism, planning threats, energy conservation, provision of services, and more.

The Council therefore works best and becomes stronger when it can hear the voice of its parishioners. The Parish Council would welcome more members of the public at Parish Council meetings - or if you are unable to attend a meeting but wish to raise an issue you can contact a Councillor through the Clerk.