Article 4: Is it right for me?
Is it right for me?
You previously heard about what motivated some of our current councillors to join the council and you might be thinking about whether the role is right for you.
Deciding whether to become a councillor can be tricky and you should think about:
- whether you have the time to commit to the role
Bracebridge Heath Parish Council meets roughly once per month. However, all councillors are expected to have read and understood the meeting papers, thought about the decisions that might be made and gathered more information about agenda items if they feel it necessary. Prospective councillors should think about the time they spend in a typical week on all commitments and assess whether an additional commitment to the parish council of 2 to 3 hours a week is achievable for you.
- if your skills will lend to the role
You don’t need any special qualifications. Skills gained through work, raising a family, caring for relatives, volunteering or being active in community or faith groups are highly valuable. However, having or being able to develop the following skills, knowledge and attributes will help you in the role.
Team working – being able to work with other councillors and council officers in meetings and being able to complete any tasks given to you. Councillors make decisions collectively as part of the corporate body (the Council). Councillors should support the collective decision made even if they did not vote in favour of it.
Communication and influencing skills – these include listening and interpersonal skills, facilitation, public speaking, advocacy, the ability to consider alternative points of view and to negotiate, mediate and resolve conflict.
Problem solving, questioning and analytical skills – the ability to get to the bottom of an issue, look at evidence and think of different ways to resolve the issue, including the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
Ability to engage with the local community – being available to provide information and advice to people.
Technology skills – councils rely increasingly on technology and councillors are expected to play a full role in this, eg using email.
Personal skills – the ability to stay patient and tolerant, a sense of humour and the ability to admit if you are wrong!
- how much you know about the local area
Parish Councils are the lowest tier of local government and as such their focus tends to be on very local issues affecting their communities. To be an effective councillor it’s important to know about the infrastructure, workplaces and developments that exist to serve and support the local people.
How well do you know Bracebridge Heath?
- What is the population of the village?
- Where are the future housing developments proposed to be built?
- How many play parks does the village have?
- Where is the St John’s Hospital Cemetery?
- Where is the village Christmas tree located each year?
Cllr Kate Trought has written about her time as a parish councillor, her motivations for joining and what’s involved with the role.
I usually tell people that I became a councillor because of grass. This is essentially true, as the first Parish Council meeting I attended was because the council had invited someone from NKDC to talk about the grass cutting schedule in our village. As everyone knows this is a hot and contentious topic when summer comes round!
My natural cynicism was overthrown however, when I saw that the councillors there were very committed and cared greatly about their community, so I almost immediately decided that I did not want to be just one of those people who attended a random meeting to moan about things, but I wanted to be part of something that could actually make a difference. Thereby the seed was sown.
I knew that if I were to become a councillor I wanted to do the job properly so I waited a couple of years until retirement before putting myself forward and it was one of the best decisions of my life. I not only made some great friends but got to have a real say in the things that really matter to the community such as, yes, grass cutting, management of the allotments, street lighting, the playparks, the community library, planning applications and the maintenance of the community facilities, as well as being fully involved in the long road to our village having a made Neighbourhood Plan to protect the interests of all those who live here.
Being a councillor is very much like running a business. There are staff to manage, such as our essential and hardworking clerk and deputy clerk, the village caretaker and the facilities cleaner and litter picker. The library could not exist without the vital and committed volunteers who are all offered a training programme. The council also lays aside some money to give as grants to local clubs and associations every year. Thus we have a fairly large budget to manage which pays for all this and we councillors are ever mindful that we are using public money which comes to us as a precept which is our share of the local council tax paid by every household in our village.
If you are considering becoming a Parish Councillor be aware that it is not an easy job and the commitment should not be taken on lightly. There are numerous training courses available which are essential to a more in depth understanding of the work involved. Done properly it takes up a considerable amount of time and energy and you definitely need broad shoulders and a great sense of humour to endure the inevitable flak.
Having said all that, I really enjoy being a councillor, meeting people and being involved in every aspect of village life. It feeds my terminal nosiness and I love it!
‘Commitment is an act, not a word.’ Jean-Paul Sartre.”
There once was a Lincolnshire lass,
Who attended a meeting about unkempt grass.
But she found that those councillors who sat
Did much more than that.
It’s funny how things come to pass
Answers for the quiz
1. 5788 (Census 2021)
2.Land north of Canwick Avenue and Land south of the Recreation Ground behind the Sleaford Road Industrial Estate. See map 2 on page 16 of the Neighbourhood Plan - https://tinyurl.com/mrya6nth
3. Three
4. Adjacent to Sleaford Road, next to Ford and Slater DAF.
5. The green at Lancia Crescent / Grantham Road