By becoming a parish councillor you become someone your community will look to for help, guidance and support – a community leader with the power to influence decisions for the benefit of the people you serve.
Seeing your community change for the better, as a result of decisions you have helped make, is something that can give you a sense of achievement and pride.
For further details, please contact the Parish Clerk or the Elections Team at Daventry District Council on 01327 871100 (Mon – Fri 9am – 4:30pm)
Alternatively, you can visit the Electoral Commissions website. This webpage contains all the guidance and resources that you need if you are a candidate at a parish or community election in England.
Training
Training is provided by the Northants County Association of Parish Councils, who represent the vast majority of parish and town councils in Northants.
Eligibility
To stand for election on a parish council, you must:
- be a UK or Commonwealth citizen
- be a citizen of the Republic of Ireland
- be a citizen of another Member state of the European Union
- be at least 18 years old
To be eligible to stand for an parish election for Brixworth, you must:
- be an elector of the parish
- for the whole of the previous 12 months have occupied (as owner or tenant) land or other premises in the parish
- during the previous 12 months have worked in the parish (as your principal or only place of work)
- for the whole of the previous 12 months lived in the parish or within three miles of the parish boundary
If you do become a parish councillor you will have to sign up to the Parish Council’s Code of Conduct.
Meetings
The Parish Council meets once a month for the council meeting, to which members of the public are also invited. Meetings may last two or three hours, depending on what’s on the list of items to discuss. The Parish Council has two committees to deal with Planning and Media & Communications. It also has Working Groups to deal with specific project work. Usually you would expect to attend a minimum of two meetings per month – either at the Community Centre or via Microsoft Teams. (when legally possible)
Length of service
Once elected, parish councillors sit on the council for a maximum of four years. If they then want to stay in the post they can stand for re-election.
It doesn’t mean that you have to stay for four years, if you find it’s not for you or you can no longer meet the commitment you can stand down.
Don’t take our word for it
The best way to find out what it’s like to be a parish councillor is to talk to someone who’s doing it now. Come along to a parish council meeting, speak to one of the councillors and find out what they think of the job. Alternatively you can attend one of our Saturday Surgeries at the community Centre.
