Would you like to be a Bawdeswell Parish Councillor

 

 

The Parish Council is a vital part of our community. They are responsible for many issues affecting the village and especially for setting the Parish Precept which is paid with your Council Tax bill. For Bawdeswell this will equate to an average of a bit less than 25p per week for each member of our village community in 2007/8 and pays the clerk’s salary, insurance premium, maintenance of the playing field and Village Hall, maintenance of the churchyard, Village Handyman’s wages and materials and a number of other items including some support for this magazine.

 

Planning issues have been at the forefront of recent meetings with Folland Court and Bawdeswell Store. These Parish Council meetings have been well attended and villagers have been able to express their opinions. However, decisions made by the Parish Council have to reflect the needs of the whole village and may not necessarilly be agreed with by everyone. If you would like to be part of the decision making process then you might like to consider becoming a Parish Councillor.

 

On Thursday May 3rd 2007 all seven places on Bawdeswell Parish Council are up for election. Some current members of the council are standing down so there will be vacancies. If seven or less nominations are received for Parish Councillors then there will no election and those nominated will automatically become councillors. If there are less than seven Councillors then others may be co-opted on to the council to make up the number required.

 

At the date of publication 7 nomination packs have been handed out – BUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU LADIES? We need a female perspective on the Parish Council!!

 

The Parish Council normally meets at 7.45pm in the Village Hall on the first Monday of each month excluding January and August when the council is in recess.  Following the May 3rd election the next meeting has been arranged for Monday 14th May at 7.15pm. This is to allow time for the results of the election to be posted. This meeting will comprise of (i) Annual Parish Meeting, (ii) Parish Council Annual Meeting and (iii) May Parish Council Meeting.

 

 

Running for office (Bawdeswell & Foxley Parish Councils)

 

 

Bawdeswell needs 7 councillors and Foxley need 5. If you would like to be a candidate the process is quite simple. You must obtain a ‘Nomination Pack’ either from your Parish Clerk (Bawdeswell 688234, Foxley 668302) or from Breckland Council. The nomination form requires a proposer and seconder who must both be on the electoral roll for the parish. The consent form is for you to agree to the nomination and to state how you are eligible to stand for council. Forms must be submitted to Breckland Council Offices no later than noon on Wednesday 4th April.

 

In order to be a parish councillor you must be aged 18 years or over and be a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of an EU member state and you must qualify to be a parish councillor for your parish in one or more of the following ways:

·          be a local government elector in the parish (ie on the electoral roll)

·          have owned or rented land within the parish for the last twelve months

·          have lived in the parish or within 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) of it (of the Parish Boundary) for the last twelve months

·          have worked in the parish for the last twelve months

 

You cannot stand as a candidate if you are disqualified from being elected by reason of any disqualification set out in section 80 of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

Specifically, a person cannot be a candidate if:

·          they are employed by the local authority or hold paid office under the authority (including joint boards or committees), or

·          they are the subject of a Bankruptcy Restriction order in England or Wales, have been adjudged Bankrupt in Northern Ireland, or had their estate sequestrated in Scotland, or

·          they have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more Including a suspended sentence) without the option of a fine during the five years before election day (i.e. since 4th May 2002) , or

·          they have been disqualified under Part III of RPA 1983 (this relates to donations and other offences as well) or under the Audit Commission Act.

 

Full details of requirements for eligibility and disqualifications are given in the Nomination Pack.

 

If you are nominated as a candidate for Bawdeswell or Foxley Parish Council and there are sufficient candidates to require an election in your parish you will be given the opportunity to have a half page (free of charge) in the next Reeve’s Tale to tell the electorate about yourself.

 

 Support the democratic process by turning out to vote at the Breckland District Council and Parish Council elections.  7am & 10pm on Thursday May 3rd 2007.