MAKE A CHANGE BECOME A COUNCILLOR
Are you passionate about your community? Do you want to help make a long-lasting change? Do you have innovative ideas for the council, the village, or the parish? Do you have concerns about a specific issue and want to do something about it?
If this is you, then we need you. We need people from all backgrounds and experiences who reflect their community to put themselves forward for election.
Make a change and become a councillor.
Join Nassington Parish Council
It’s an exciting time to be involved in this grassroots level of local government as parish & town councils will be important as the ‘local voice’ as we become part of a unitary authority.
What we need now are candidates for the role!
We are looking for enthusiastic team players who can work within a structured environment to help bring the council’s exciting plans to fruition, conjure ideas to improve local life and help bring positive changes whilst building a resilient community.
Local (parish and town) councils and councillors make a massive difference to local people’s quality of life. They are passionate about their communities and seek to make a change to help improve residents’ lives.
Different local councils run numerous services, depending on the size of the council. Many you will see day-to-day, but some are less known and much goes on behind the scenes too. Obvious things include:
- street-lighting,
- allotments,
- play areas,
- recreation areas,
- neighbourhood plans,
- burial grounds,
- public seating,
- litter and dog bins,
- open spaces
Other things that some councils are involved in include, solar panels & other renewables, setting up dementia-friendly groups, organising community buses, establishing youth projects, maintaining footpaths, and introducing traffic calming measures.
Councillors are elected to serve the local community, so you must either live or work in the council area. Becoming a councillor is a rewarding experience as you will be able to make a change in your community to help improve residents’ lives. A councillor’s role can include developing strategies and plans for the area, helping with problems and ideas, representing the community, working with other local community groups, decision making and reviewing decisions and talking to the community about their needs and what the council is doing.
If you want to know more about what it is like to be a councillor, watch the YouTube recording from NALC’s #MakeAChange event, hosted by Times Radio presenter Matt Chorley, with a panel of councillors from across the country, as well as viral sensation Jackie Weaver (Chief Officer at Cheshire Association of Local Councils).
THIS booklet from the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) is also helpful.
For local councils in Northamptonshire, this is a truly challenging and exciting time – with the reorganisation of the county into a unitary authority, vibrant, robust and effective Town and Parish Councils – the local council sector – will be more important than ever in representing the needs of the people in the parishes and leading on the well-being of our communities. The new CEO of North Northamptonshire Council knows how important local councils are as partners in delivering services to the residents we serve and will be helping to steer the council to that end. We are hoping to forge strong ties with the new councillors too so that we can work in partnership to ensure the rural voice remains loud and strong in the new set-up.
Nassington Council has been preparing for this change for some time – we anticipated the need for robust resilience for many years and the council is confident in its ability to face these challenges and take on devolved services, as well as continuing to work on projects. We have recently commenced work on a Neighbourhood Plan for the parish, have invested time and money on improvements to recreational facilities and enhanced access to community amenities that we hope improve people’s wellbeing. We try to work closely with businesses in the parish to enhance our micro-economy and to welcome the many visitors that visit our wonderful village.
Please consider this role as a councillor – as long as you are over 18 and on the electoral register (or have lived or worked in the parish, or within 3 miles of it for 12 months) you should fit the bill.
Download the necessary form here:
https://nassington.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Nomination-pack-parish-council-election.doc