Two Vacancies on the Town Council
Petworth Town Council needs two new team members. If you think you would like to represent your community, help keep Petworth a great place to live and work, engage with other Councillors, and you meet the Eligibility criteria detailed on the document at the bottom of this page, please contact the Town Clerk on 01798 344883 or email clerk@petworth-tc.gov.uk to express your interest.
You will need to complete an Application Form and an Eligibility Form, both of which are available at the bottom of this page, or by collecting a hard copy from the offices of Petworth Town Council. Forms must be returned to the Town Clerk either by email to: clerk@petworth-tc.gov.uk or by dropping them into the offices of the Town Council. The deadline for returning the forms is Friday 6th October 2023.
What is a Councillor?
Councillors are elected to represent an individual geographical unit on the council, known as a ward or parish. In Petworth it is the entire parish. They are generally elected by the public every four years, but there are two Co-option spaces available on the Town Council at the moment as Councillors Simon Cooke and Ronnie Harris have tendered their resignations to the Town Council.
What do Councillors do?
Councillors have three main components to their work:
- Decision making: Through meetings and attending committees with other elected members, Councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered and what policies should be implemented.
- Monitoring: Councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working.
- Getting involved locally: As local representatives, Councillors have responsibilities towards their constituents and local organisations. These responsibilities and duties often depend on what the Councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available, and may include:
- Going to meetings of local organisations.
- Going to meetings of bodies affecting the wider community.
- Taking up issues on behalf of members of the public.
How much time does it take up?
Quite often Councillors say that their duties occupy them for about an hour a week. Obviously there are some Councillors who spend more time than this and some less, but in the main, being a Town Councillor is an enjoyable way of interracting with other Councillors, contributing to your community, and helping to make Petworth a better place to live and work.
As a Councillor representing your community you will help keep it a great place to live and work. You will be supported in your role and will be expected to undertake training. You should be comfortable working electronically. You should have a positive outlook and a can-do attitude and be willing to work as part of a team.
If after reading this notice you are interested in applying please contact the Clerk to the council using the above details. The closing date for applications is Friday 6th October 2023.
The Application Form and Eligibility Criteria Form can be found here: