Councillor Vacancies

NOTICE OF VACANCY IN OFFICE OF COUNCILLOR

PARISH OF PENRITH
(Penrith West Ward)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

that, following the resignation of JULIE MONK a casual vacancy has arisen in the Office of Councillor for the Parish Council.

In accordance with Section 89(3) of the Local Government Act 1972, where the vacancy occurs within six months before the day on which the councillor whose office is vacant would regularly have retired, an election shall not be held under Section 89(1) of the above Act, and the vacancy will be filled at the next ordinary election of councillors on 2 May 2019.

The Council may choose to fill the vacancy for the period until that election.

CO-OPTION VACANCIES

There are councillor vacancies and the Town Council is co-opting members:

Penrith Town Council is a new parish council and was constituted in May 2015.

The Council have 19 members and the parish is divided into 6 wards.

The Town Council currently has vacant seats that have arisen as a result of unfilled seats from the 2015 elections, resignations or disqualification as follows::

1 Penrith East
1 Pategill
1 Penrith North
1 Carleton Ward
1 South Ward
3 West Ward

IT TAKES ALL SORTS

You don’t have to be interested in politics or be a member of a political group to become a town councillor.

Do Something Positive for Your Community

Throughout England parish and town councils work towards improving community well-being and providing better services at a local level. 80,000 elected local councillors, people just like you, give up a little of their time, each week to represent the interests of their local community.

It takes all sorts of individuals from different parts of the community, of different ages with different life experiences to become a councillor. A passion for the town you live in and a desire to make a difference are the key attributes.

Think, Listen and Act Locally

As a councillor, you can become a voice for your community and affect real change. Councillors are community leaders and represent the aspirations of the public that they serve. Town councillors are the most local part of our democratic system and are closest to the public. By standing for your Penrith Town Council you could make a real difference to Penrith.

Penrith Town Council has a responsibility for the wellbeing of your

local neighbourhood. This is done by representing your local community, delivering services to meet local needs and by striving to improve the quality of life in Penrith.

Spend Your Time Productively

Penrith Town Council has several vacancies and we are keen to recruit and co-opt to these vacancies to enable the Town Council to meet its responsibilities and to implement the amazing community projects that are being developed to enhance the town.

The Town Council looks to blend a variety of skills and backgrounds in its members. We currently have a lot of finance expertise within our membership and we are particularly interested in recruiting people with a background in marketing, promotion, employment, law and industry.

However, no special qualifications are needed and the most important thing is to have a keen interest in Penrith and be prepared to play an active part in the Councils work. Initial training for all new governors is available as well as regular training for all councillors.

The Council is acutely aware that councillors are volunteers and will endeavour not to have unrealistic expectations and to manage councillors time effectively. However, councillors are expected to attend bi monthly Full Council meetings plus monthly meetings of committees to which they are members.

For members of the Council with no responsibility as a Chairman the time commitment is about 50 hours a year plus preparation time for meetings (excluding travel time) and it is important that councillors have a sufficiently flexible working pattern to accommodate this commitment.

A candidate for a Town Council is qualified if, when nominated:

he or she is a British citizen, Commonwealth citizen, citizen of the Irish Republic or a citizen of another European Union State.
has attained 18 years of age, and
is either in the register of electors for Penrith or has during the whole of the preceding twelve months, occupied land as owner or tenant, had a principal place of work there, or resided in or within 4.8 kilometres or 3 miles of it.

You cannot stand for election if you:

are the subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or interim order.
have, within 5 years before the day of the election, been convicted in the UK of any offence and have had a prison sentence (whether suspended or not) for a period of over 3 months without the option of a fine.
work for the council you want to become a councillor for.

Interested?

Have a look at this website which provides information on the committee structure, frequency of meetings and the activities the Council has been involved in.

If you would like to know more please contact the Town Council office on 01768 8899773 and ask for the Town Clerk or Deputy Town Clerk or email:

townclerk@penrithtowncouncil.co.uk