The Role of a Town Councillor

Becoming a councillor gives residents the chance to represent the local community, deliver services to meet local needs and strive to improve the quality of life in the local area. By becoming a councillor, you will gain more insights into your local community, have influence over local decisions and be in a position to help local people build a stronger identity and a better future.

Halesworth Town Council has a four-year plan to rise to the challenges it will be facing in the future. There are opportunities for councillors to lead on a project they are interested in or have experience in.   This starts with the Neighbourhood Plan and transfer of the Council Office building, public toilets, Town Park and eleven open spaces.  Click here to see the Four Year Plan for the Town Council.

What do local councils do?

As a Councillor you are in a great position to help identify the needs of your community and to deliver projects and initiatives that will help to make your local area a better place to live. For example, in Halesworth there is land set aside for a community hub, the Town Council will need to plan and deliver this to best fit the needs of all our residents.

Local councils are best placed to identify the needs of the local community and show great imagination in developing ideas to tackle the issues most relevant to their local area.  The Town Council recognised that youth provision in Halesworth is inadequate and have led on setting up YAH-R (Youth Action Halesworth – Rural) to plan better youth facilities.  We have been listening to what young people want regarding the renewal of the skate park and have organised events to gather to ideas for this.

Local Councillors have three main areas of work:

1. Decision-making – Through attending meetings and 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.
2. Monitoring – Councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working.
3. Getting involved locally – As local representatives, Councillors have responsibilities towards their constituents and local organisations. This often depends on what the Councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available.

How can I become a Councillor?

Councillors are elected by local residents every four years or if there are vacancies - through the co option process. Contact the Town Clerk for more details.

To stand as a councillor (whether via election or co-option), you must meet the following criteria:

You must be at least 18 years of age; AND
You must live in the parish of Halesworth OR own property or land in the parish of Halesworth OR work in in the parish of Halesworth OR live within 3 miles (as the crow flies!) of the boundary of the parish of Halesworth.

So if you want to do more for your community, if you want to spend your time productively, and if you can think, listen and act locally — Become a Town Councillor.

The document below gives the rules and regulations on who is eligible to stand to be a Town Councillor.

Please fill in the form below and return to Clerk@halesworthtowncouncil.org.uk if you would like to be consider for co-option when there is a vacancy.