RECRUITMENT OF PARISH COUNCILLORS

RECRUITMENT OF PARISH COUNCILLORS.

East Haddon Parish Council at present consists of 9 Councillors and a Parish Clerk which is our establishment. However two Councillors will resign at the end of April which necessitates this appeal for you to consider becoming a Parish Councillor for the good of the village.

Now you may well be thinking “Huh, what’s the Parish Council ever done for me?” Well, you might be surprised. Perhaps you have not had any personal attention from the Council but you have benefited in many ways as have all villagers. For example who do you think has been responsible for the Speed Indicator Devices (SIDS), refurbishment of our War Memorial (doesn’t it look splendid!), improved signage at the crossroads with the A428 and vast improvement to the S bend exiting the village towards Northampton? Who looks after the maintenance and grass-cutting in the churchyard and the cemetery? Who makes recommendations on planning applications? Who provides annual grants to the PFA, the Village Hall and Friends of the Primary School? Your Parish Council does all these things and the list is not exhaustive. I hope it gives you a flavour of how you benefit from the efforts of a talented and experienced group of people who devote their time and energy to providing the best possible service for our village.

Now a bit of background. A Parish Council is NOT a Committee. It is a legal entity enshrined in law. It has strict conditions and obligations to consider. This might sound onerous to you but with the experience within the Council the rules and regulations are dealt with with the minimum of fuss.You will no doubt have read about the huge change which will take place in April 2021 in the form of two Unitary Councils, one for West Northamptonshire which we will belong to and one for North Northamptonshire. Whatever changes result from this new format, one thing is certain, Parish Councils will continue to form the bedrock of local government.

Your present Councillors have a wide range of experiences and disciplines, i.e. civil service, farming, military, engineering and commercial. Your Council is NOT a replica of “The Vicar of Dibley!” If you decide to become a Parish Councillor you will be supported with training and guidance. You will learn all sorts of transferable skills which can be used in your work place or the community. Being a Councillor will increase your knowledge of the village and you will work in a team to further the brilliant community that is East Haddon.

Now if you have got this far well done because here is the punch line. If villagers in East Haddon do not come forward to fill the existing vacancies and more in the future as resignations and the grim reaper take their toll, East Haddon will no longer have a Parish Council run by its villagers. Outsiders will be appointed to run it; outsiders who perhaps have never been to East Haddon before. What do you want, your Council run by villagers for villagers or strangers? I can assure you that without local involvement, overtime you will see a difference; a difference you will not like!

Why don’t you come along to one of our bi-monthly Council meetings and see what we are all about? The meetings usually last from an hour to an hour and a half. They will be held in the village hall on Thursdays from 7.00 pm, post Covid restrictions. The dates are on the Parish web-site. Our meeting on the 18th March will be a virtual one. There will be a link to it on our web-site. If March is not possible why not consider our May Council meeting which will be preceded by the AGM. Should you want more information about becoming a Parish Councillor the contact details of our Parish Clerk are on our web-site.

We look forward to meeting you.

John Benson,

Chairman, East Haddon Parish Council