Community Councils across Scotland were established by law in 1973. Although Community Councils have statutory duties in terms of licensing and planning, they are essentially voluntary bodies.

The key roles of Community Councils (as described by the Highland Council) are:

• To represent the views of the community to The Highland Council and other public bodies operating in their area
• To act to further the interests of their communities
• To be consulted on planning applications within their area
• To consider exercising their powers to object to the granting, renewal or transfer of liquor licences.

The present Cromarty & District Community Council was elected in October 2023 for a term of four years. It represents the area of not just Cromarty but also the surrounding district broadly up to the edge of Jemimaville. This is the current map showing the boundaries.

The Community Council consists of up to a maximum of seven elected (or co-opted) Members, a maximum of two appointed Youth Members (aged 16-18), a Minute Secretary (Non Voting) and as many Associate Members (Non Voting) as required. From the elected members the Council elects three office-bearers at its Inaugural Meeting and then annually at the AGM. There are currently four Elected Members, one Youth Member (Youth Members have full voting rights but are not allowed to appoint other Youth Members or elect Co-opted Members), one Co-opted Member (Co-opted Members have full voting rights but are not allowed to appoint Youth Members or elect other Co-opted Members), a Minute Secretary (Non Voting), who is also the elected but Non Voting Secretary of the C&DCC, and one Associate Member (Non Voting). C&DCC meetings require a quorom of at least four Members (Elected, Co-opted and/or Youth) present. Associate Members (Non Voting) can also be appointed to cover certain Portfolio responsibilities.

The office-bearers are elected for one year at a time and currently they are as follows:

• Chairwoman: Paige Shepherd
• Vice Chair: Andy Thurgood
• Treasurer: Alan Plampton
• Secretary (Non Voting): Claire Fraser

Other Elected Member (Non office-bearer): Nigel Shapcott

Youth Member: Dominic Scott-Lodge

Co-opted Members: Alan Rycroft

Associate Members (Non Voting): Kari Magee

Minute Secretary (Non Voting): Claire Fraser

Meetings
The Community Council normally meets online/in person (usually) on the last Monday of the month (excluding July and December) at 7.30pm. All members of the community are welcome to attend.

The agenda is posted on Cromarty Live, on the Cromarty Council Notice board (opposite the Cromarty Post Office), on the Victoria Hall noticeboard and on the C&DCC Facebook page, a week before the meeting date.

We welcome attendance at our meetings and are always available if residents have any concerns. The C&DCC Members' names and contact details can be found on the Cromarty Live Members page.

Portfolios
Community Council Members undertake responsibility for certain community activities and duties. Members can be supported by non-C&DCC Members with a particular expertise and/or knowledge. The current full list of Portfolio responsibilities can be found here. 

Minutes
Minutes of each meeting are taken and approved at the next community council meeting. They are then
made available on Cromarty Live. To find them on Cromarty Live, go to the Document Library here and look at the bottom of the list for the folder of the year's minutes you require (for example: 2018_cdcc_minutes).

Open the folder, and then click on the particular month's minutes you wish to read.