Councillor Vacancies

CO-OPTION VACANCIES

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

BECOMING A COUNCILLOR IN PENRITH

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 8 vacant seats that have arisen as a result of unfilled seats from the 2015 elections, resignations or disqualification:

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

VACANCY FOR A TOWN COUNCILLOR

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 (SECTION 87(2))

THE LOCAL ELECTIONS (PARISHES AND COMMUNITIES)

(AMENDMENT) RULES

TOWN COUNCIL OF PENRITH

PENRITH NORTH WARD

(1) A casual vacancy has arisen in the office of Councillor on the above-mentioned Council caused by the RESIGNATION of STEVEN CONNELLY.

(2) A by-election to fill the vacancy must be held if, within 14 days from the date of the publishing of this Notice, ten electors for the Parish Ward give notice, in writing, to the Returning Officer of their request for an election.

(3) The Returning Officer for Parish Elections is Matthew Neal, Town Hall, Penrith, Cumbria CA11 7QF. An election will take place not later than 60 days from the date of this notice.

(4) If no such notice is given, the Parish/Town Council must fill the vacancy by co-option as soon as practicable after the expiry of the period of 14 days referred to at Paragraph (2) above.

Dated: 24 July 2018

Signed

V. Tunnadine

Town Clerk

Penrith Town Council

Council Office

Unit 1

Church House

19-24 Friargate

Penrith

Cumbria, CA11 7XR

Tel: 01768 899773

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 tat 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

Visiting your council is the best way to find out what happens there. Give your local parish council clerk a call and find out when its next public meeting happens. By law, ordinary people are allowed to be present at most council business but not participate unless the council agrees to this. Most councils have a public participation section on their agenda.

For more information about becoming a town councillor:

Please download:

It Takes Allsorts
All About Local Councils

If you would like to know more you can contact:

Cumbria Association of Local Councils

Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters

Carleton Avenue

Penrith

CA10 2FA

Phone: 01768 812663

(Samantha Bagshaw & Sonia Hutchinson)

Email: office@calc.org.uk

Web: www.calc.org.uk

TO APPLY

If you would like to apply to become a co-opted member to the Town Council please complete the Co-Option Application Form