Any member of the community is welcome to attend but they may not speak at a monthly meeting unless the meeting is adjourned in order to seek advice on any item on which a member of the public might be thought to have special knowledge.

The Parish Council scrutinises planning applications for new buildings and building alterations in the parish and makes comments to the relevant planning authority i.e. Alnwick District Council or the Northumberland National Park. All local authorities District Council, County Council, Northumberland National Park, Environment Agency etc. are required to produce a development plan, which is updated at regular intervals. All drafts of these plans and the finished projections are sent to the Parish Council for scrutiny and comment.

Harbottle Parish Council has always been non party political and at parish level this is a valuable philosophy as it gives equal weight to the opinions of all members.

Information about councillors and meetings can be found at harbottleparishcouncil.wordpress.com