Being a councillor
Information about being a councillor
Standing for election, elections are held every four years. Prospective candidates must complete the appropriate nomination papers available from the Parish Clerk and local Returning Officer at North Devon District Council, Civic Centre, Barnstaple.
By-election – occurs in the event a standing councillor ceases to hold office mid term. From the date of public notification, electors have 14 days excluding weekends, public holidays and certain specified days to request a poll to fill the vacancy. If a poll is claimed by at least ten electors then an election to fill the vacancy must be called within 60 days of the original notification of vacancy.
Co-option – Where a poll is not claimed, then the Parish Council is obliged to co-opt, if the period of time until the next full election is greater than six months. Witheridge’s policy for co-option is to advertise the position for applications in writing. Applications are considered by Council and the successful applicant co-opted by resolution of Council.
Documents required to be completed by prospective cllrs are provided on the page, for more information contact the clerk.
Code of Conduct – Councillors in signing their declaration of acceptance of office commit to abiding by the Council’s Code of Conduct which can viewed under Code of Conduct.
Documents
| Document | File size | File type |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-general-notice-of-registerable-interests-town-and-parish-eversion (opens in a new tab) | 317 KB | |
| 2023-parish-declaration-of-acceptance (opens in a new tab) | 6 KB | |
| candidates-co-option-form-for-parish-clerks-1 (opens in a new tab) | 389 KB | |
| standing_for_town_council_1 (opens in a new tab) | 42 KB | |
| good-councillors-guide-2024-edition (opens in a new tab) | 5 MB | |
| what_does_a_councillor_do_1 (opens in a new tab) | 30 KB | |
| what_is_a_town_council_1 (opens in a new tab) | 30 KB |