Your Town Needs You!

Now that the process to set the Town Council up for the next four years is about to kick off, it is a great time for you to get involved in helping to manage the Town’s affairs and to steer it through the exciting events that are bound to be happening. In the upcoming local elections on 2nd May, all eleven Town Council positions will be up for election.

As well as making sure that the people in the town are supported and served, there is the Neighbourhood Plan to implement which will give us the opportunity to make Northleach and Eastington more attractive to local residents, tourists, businesses and all other people that come into contact with us. The Town Council has a lot of responsibilities across Town from grass cutting to grit bins, The Westwoods Centre to the cemetery and from play areas to the Pavilion! We need enthusiastic, community-minded residents to help deliver these facilities for the Parish.

The Town Council is a perfect opportunity to either develop your skills or to use those you already have in a different environment. We need all types of people on the Council – so come and join us. If you have any questions about what the Councillors do then please get in touch. Contact details of Councillors and Council employees are on the Town website www.northleach.gov.uk along with other Council information.

We strongly recommend that you come along to one of the meetings to see what it’s all about, and there are two more opportunities to attend a meeting before the election process closes. Come and join us on Wednesday 27th February and Wednesday 20th March for the next full Council meetings. Both start at 7pm in The Westwoods Centre.

You can be nominated to stand for election from 19th March up to 4pm on 3rd April. Details on how to apply can be found here: www.northleach.gov.uk/2019/01/an-update-on-the-district-town-elections-on-2-may/.

It would be great to have a really competitive election so that all residents can have a say on who will represent them within the Town Council for the benefit of the Parish and beyond.

Kind regards,
Cat Crompton, Town Clerk

An Update on the District & Parish/Town Elections on 2 May

This is the first of a number of updates with information about processes and deadlines for the District and Parish/Town Council Elections being held this coming May.

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(i) Elections

Elections to Cotswold District Council and every Town/Parish Council within Cotswold District will take place on Thursday 2 May.  All seats on all councils will be subject to the election process.

Apart from the chairman and vice-chairman, your current councillors will remain in office until the fourth day after the election day of 2 May, when they will retire and the new councillors will take office.

Your chairman will remain until after a new chairman has been elected at your annual meeting following on from the elections (even if he/she does not seek re-election); and your vice-chairman will also remain in office until the new chairman has been elected (again, even if he/she does not seek re-election).

(ii) Timetable

A timetable of key events is available on https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-council/elections/current-future-elections/ but, for ease, a copy is also attached.

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(iii) Notice of Election (publication date 18 March 2019)

The publication of this notice marks the start of the formal election process.

Clerks will be sent a copy of the notice of election for their parish/town council during the week beginning 11 March.

Please display a copy of this notice on your parish/town notice-board(s) by no later than Monday 18 March.

It would also be helpful if this notice could be displayed on your council’s website (if you have one) and distributed to any email lists you use for community purposes.

If you would like paper copies sent to you, please let me know how many you would like.

(iv) Nominations (from 19 March up to 4pm on 3 April)

Nomination packs will be available from 18 February and paper copies will be sent to clerks for distribution to interested parties.  Copies will also be available on our website.

Anyone wishing to stand as a candidate must submit completed nomination papers to the Returning Officer by no later than 4pm on Wednesday 3 April.

N.B. All nomination papers MUST BE HAND DELIVERED to the Returning Officer (Nigel Adams) at the District Council Offices, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX by the deadline (candidates may ask someone else to deliver the papers on their behalf). 

A candidate may ask someone else to deliver any or all of the papers on his/her behalf but, ultimately, it is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that all relevant forms are delivered in the correct manner and on time.  Where a document is required to be delivered by hand, this can include delivery by a courier.

The Returning Officer and the Elections Team will be available to accept nomination papers between the hours of 9am and 5pm from Tuesday 19 March until Tuesday 2 April and from 9am until the nominations deadline at 4pm on Wednesday 3 April (excluding weekends and bank holidays).

If possible, candidates are recommended to submit their nomination papers a few days before the closing date.  As in previous years, the Elections Team can carry out an informal check of nominations so that any errors or omissions can be corrected before formal receipt. If a candidate wishes to take advantage of this service and/or would like to make an appointment to deliver his/her papers, he/she should contact the Elections Team on 01285 623002.

The Returning Officer and the Elections Team may also assist a candidate to complete a nomination paper. However, if a candidate is not sure if he/she is able to stand, he/she should contact the Electoral Commission or seek his/her own legal advice.

Please note that the nominations deadline is the same for all elections being held on 2 May, so it would be helpful if nominations could be delivered as early as possible.

(v) Withdrawal of Candidature

If, having submitted a nomination, a candidate wishes to withdraw his/her candidature, he/she must do so by 4pm on Wednesday 3 April (i.e. the same time/date as delivery of nominations).  This requires a signed notice to such effect, attested by one witness, delivered by hand to the Returning Officer

If no withdrawal is received by that time, candidates will remain nominated and be part of the election process

(vi) Statement of Persons Nominated (publication date no later than 4pm on 4 April)

Details of nominations received will appear in the form of another notice – the Statement of Persons Nominated.

Clerks will be sent a copy of the notice for their parish/town council as soon as possible after the close of nominations, for publication by no later than 4pm on Thursday 4 April.

Please display/distribute as for the notice of election.  If you requested paper copies for the notice of election, we will also provide paper copies of this notice.

At this stage, we will provide more information on the process for each council, dependent upon the number of nominations received.  The options can be summarised as follows:-

  • If there are more nominations than seats, an election will take place on 2 May.
  • If there are fewer nominations than seats but there are sufficient candidates to enable the council to be quorate, the council will be able to co-opt to fill the remaining seats (a formal co-option process, including the advertisement of the vacancies, is recommended).  N.B.  The council quorum is three or one-third of the total membership, whichever is the greater (fractions are rounded up).
  • If there are insufficient nominations for the quorum figure to be achieved, any validly-nominated candidates will be elected unopposed but a new election will be run to seek further nominations.  If this happens, clerks will be advised of the procedure.

(vii) Notice of Poll (publication date 24 April 2019)

If there is to be a contested election, clerks will be sent a copy of the notice of poll for their parish/town council during the week beginning 15 April, for publication by no later than Wednesday 24 April.

If there is the same number of candidates as seats, or fewer candidates than seats, we will provide a notice of uncontested election (for publication by the same deadline).

Please display/distribute as for the notice of election.  If you requested paper copies for the notice of election, we will also provide paper copies of this notice.

(viii) Election Day

Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm on Thursday 2 May 2019.

A list of polling stations will be sent to you as soon as they have been confirmed.

(ix) The Count

The verification of ballot papers for all elections will take place after the close of poll and continue overnight on 2/3 May; along with the District election counts.

The counting of the votes for any parish/town council elections will start at 2pm on Friday 3 May.

All verification and counting will take place at the Cotswold Leisure Centre, Cirencester.

Further details about the verification and count will be issued to candidates and clerks after the close of nominations.

(x) Registration of Electors

To vote at any election, residents must be included on the register of electors. 

Anyone who is already included on the register does not need to re-register.  However, if someone is in any doubt, he/she should check with the Elections Team.

The deadline for registration of new voters is Friday 12 April.

Anyone wishing to register can do so online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote (they will need their national insurance number to register).

Poll cards for the 2 May elections will be issued to all registered electors on 26 March.

(xi) Postal Voting

Anyone wishing to vote by post at the elections must submit an application by 5pm on Monday 15 April. 

If a person already has a postal vote arrangement in place, he/she does not need to re-apply.  However, if someone is in any doubt, he/she should check with the Elections Team.

If a person already has a postal vote arrangement in place, but wishes to change the way that he/she votes on 2 May, then he/she must do so by 5pm on Monday 15 April. 

Application forms are available from https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/how-do-i-vote or contact the Elections Team for a paper form.

(xii) Proxy Voting

Anyone wishing to vote by proxy at the elections must submit an application by 5pm on Wednesday 24 April. 

If a person already has a proxy vote arrangement in place, he/she does not need to re-apply.  However, if someone is in any doubt, he/she should check with the Elections Team.

If a person already has a proxy vote arrangement in place, but wishes to change the way that he/she votes on 2 May, then he/she must do so by 5pm on Monday 15 April. 

Application forms are available from https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/how-do-i-vote or contact the Elections Team for a paper form.

(xiii) District Council Elections – Display of Notices

Similar notices will need to be published and displayed in connection with the District Council elections (on a ward basis).

I should therefore be grateful if you could publish these notices alongside your parish notices – we will send you the district notices at the same time as the parish ones, but these only need to be displayed on your parish/town notice-board(s).

(xiv) Updates

Further updates will be issued over the next few months but if you have any queries in the meantime, please do contact the Elections Team using one of the following methods:-

You can also visit www.gov.uk/yourvotematters for information on how to register and vote.

Police & Crime Commissioner Election – 5 May 2016

PCC-Elections-2016-cropThere are only a few days to go until the election takes place for the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner. Cotswold District Council is reminding  local residents that their vote is important.

Sarah Dalby, Electoral Services Manager at CDC, comments: “This is your opportunity to choose the local PCC who you think will be the best choice to oversee policing matters in the county.  You must vote to ensure your views are represented, so please go out and vote on 5 May.”

It is particularly important for those voting by post to fill in their ballot papers privately and return them as soon as possible. Postal votes for the election were sent out last week, quite a few have been returned already. If anyone has a postal vote, they can post it in the pre-paid envelope or hand it in at a polling station in the district on 5 May. Bear in mind that postal votes must be recieved by the Returning Officer by 10pm on election day.

To find your polling station, and persons nominated, see the attached notices.

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For anyone wishing to know more about the candidates, details can be found on www.choosemypcc.org.uk.

Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm on the day. The result should be known by late afternoon on Friday 6 May and will published be on the website www.cotswold.gov.uk.

Sarah Dalby added: “We’ve been made aware of a Facebook thread saying that you need to re-register to vote in June’s EU Referendum and we’re keen to get the word out there that this is not the case!  Anyone who is already registered to vote next week will also be registered to vote at the EU Referendum, and eligible electors will be able to cast their vote.”

Town Council 2015 Election Update

Following the close of nominations for town and parish council on Thursday last week, the full list of candidates for all elections has now been published on Cotswold District Council’s website: http://www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-council/elections/current-future-elections/ (see ‘Notice of Uncontested Elections’).
uncontested election
Northleach Town Council needed 11 councillors, 10 residents have put themselves forward and so the all these people have been elected uncontested. Current councillors will remain in position until four days after 7th May. At the May meeting the new council will look to co-opt another interested person to fill the remaining position.

The new council will consist of the following current councillors: Nick Blades, Laurie Colton, Carol Davies, Vicki Hewer, Brian Hulcup, Pauline Rigby, Peter Mills and Alan Wellman. In addition Will Rayner and Amy Lesley will join the Town Council and we wish them a very warm welcome.

At this point we would like to say a really big thank you to the councillors who are stepping down. Stephen Chilton, Nick Fisher and Graham Stock have all made a huge impact to the Town Council over the years. They have been key in committee and project roles and all of them are people who “get things done”. They will be greatly missed.

Kind regards,
Cat Crompton

Clerk
Northleach with Eastington Town Council