Wickhambreaux Parish Council has a vacancy for a Councillor, please join us to assist us to run the lowest tier of local government.
If you are interested, please download and fill in our application form and return it by Friday, 31st May 2024. You’ll find return instructions at the end of the form. Please see the bottom of this page for links to the forms and for some thoughts about how to get your completed version to us.
We would like to get the new councillor in position for our June meeting which we have had to move to the 19th June 2024. We plan to have a meeting in the first weeks of June (at some date that is convenient to all) to see candidates and come to a conclusion.
Why become a Parish Councillor?
Councillors play a key role in the life of a Parish Council – they are a vital cog in making life better for its residents. They are:
- the voice of the community representing local people
- the lynchpin to partnership work with other levels of local government.
All the seats on the Parish Council are up for election EVERY 4 Years giving you the perfect opportunity to get involved by standing as a representative of your community. We are currently 1 year into the life of the current Council.
People become councillors for all manner of reasons. But most want to:
- Make a difference to their local community and be involved in shaping its future to ensure that their Parish is able to access the services it needs and deserves.
- Represent the views of local people and ensure they count.
- Contribute to life in their parish.
No specific qualifications are needed to become a councillor – life experience is the best thing to bring to the role. It’s vital that members represent all sections of the community – we want to attract people from a broad range of backgrounds to be councillors.
Time Commitment
The Council normally meets monthly in the Village Hall on the third Tuesday of each month, apart from August and December. Meetings are open to the public and normally last no more than a couple of hours. Councillors also are asked to take responsibility for various areas for which Council is either responsible or takes an active role: highways, planning, trees, liaison with the Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC), liaison with the Village Hall and the Frank Montgomery Playing Field committees, flood protection, Speedwatch, footpaths and the Website. You’ll see these in our agendas.
The time commitment for these topics is not onerous, and our councillors who are in full time employment do manage to fit things in. We work as a team, and other councillors will help when it’s needed. Planning is perhaps the most time consuming, we don’t make planning decisions but present our view to Canterbury City and Kent County Councils. Our view should carry more weight with the eventual decision that is taken.
Several of these topics are currently covered by existing councillors, but we do try to shuffle things about so that expertise can be shared.
Can I get any training?
KALC runs a wide variety of training courses, some face-to-face and some on Zoom (or equivalent). The Council has a training budget and will pay for you to attend these courses.
Politics and payment
Parish Councils are a-political, you are a person with a local view, irrespective of your personal political stance. We are all volunteers working for the benefit of the local community.
Who can become a Councillor
What follows are the rules for an election, but apply for co-option, these are taken from section 4 of https://www.local.gov.uk/be-councillor/becoming-councillor.
To be a councillor you need to be:
- British or a citizen of the Commonwealth. You may also be eligible as a citizen of the European Union, however the criteria have changed now that the UK has left the European Union. Please check on the gov.uk website for advice about EU citizens’ voting and candidacy rights in local elections.
- At least 18 years old.
- Registered to vote in the area or have lived, worked, or owned property there for at least 12 months before an election.
You can’t be a councillor if you:
- Work for the council you want to be a councillor for, you can work for another local authority as long as you are not in a political restricted post.
- Are the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or interim order.
- Have been sentenced to prison for three months or more (including suspended sentences) during the five years before election day.
- Have been convicted of a corrupt or illegal practice by an election court.
- Are subject to any relevant notification requirements, or a relevant order, in respect of a sexual offence.
Please read the eligibility criteria from the Electoral Commission. If you are in any doubt about whether you are eligible to stand as a councillor, you should contact the Electoral Services team at Canterbury City Council or the Electoral Commission for advice.
Lots of stuff here, we hope you are still interested…
If you are interested, please download and fill in our application form and return it by Friday, 31st May 2024. If you need more space, feel free to continue on an extra page. The form has return instructions at the bottom.
There are two copies of the form, one is in PDF format and is likely to be easier to print; one is in Word format so you can type your answers. Either can be returned by email if you wish. If you have a scanner, you can scan the PDF and send the scan in. If you are using email, a handwritten signature is not needed.
We’ll be considering the applications for co-option as a Councillor at a meeting in early June, and we would like you to attend that meeting.
Download PDF Application Form Download Word Format Application Form