When reflecting on why I wanted to be a Town Councillor, writes Sue Reece, I often go to the quote from local historian Brian Turner in his book ‘Chilton, Windlestone and Rushyford: an Industrial and Social History’:
“In the 1800s Chilton, as part of the Ferryhill Parish, had little or no say in its own affairs. By the 1900s, our two collieries were responsible for a massive expansion in housing and population, bringing with it a stronger voice resulting in the people of Chilton and Windlestone being able to elect councillors to represent them, giving authority to local people to discuss and decide their own affairs.”
For me, ensuring that as a community we have a direct say on the things that matter to us and that our needs and preferences are directly addressed, is one of the most important functions of the Town Council.
As a councillor you take on the responsibility to represent your community, ensuring everyone is kept informed about local matters.
You are tasked with standing up for residents, representing their views, making sure that the decisions made on local issues, budgets and public services align to local need.
This includes ensuring the council effectively runs local services to support the wellbeing of our residents, manages and maintains our public and open spaces, allotments, and cemetery, develops the Neighbourhood Plan and organises civic and community events to support community cohesion.
The last round of local elections, quite worryingly, saw a significant number of seats left vacant in councils across the country.
National analysis has identified that alongside issues of voter apathy there is perhaps a lack of clarity in what a town council does and what is takes to be a councillor.
This is a major concern at a time when the government is undertaking a review of local government.
In Chilton, we are running a series of drop-in sessions to raise awareness of the work of the town council and to hopefully recruit new councillors and volunteers.
The first drop-in is on Saturday 27 September between 10am – 12 noon in Hutton House, and residents are invited to come along for a coffee and a chat about how you can become involved.
There will also be an opportunity to buy raffle tickets for the Mayor’s charity and pick up early bird tickets for the Firework display.
On a final note, I go back to Brian’s statement and how important it was a century ago for Chilton to have a say in its own affairs and why it is equally important today.
Without a Town Council there is no grassroots representation, which means our local voice can so easily be lost in the decision-making process and little focus given to infrastructure and the services that matter to the residents who live and work in our town.
So, join us on Saturday and find out how you can help ensure Chilton’s voice is heard.
Sue Reece
Ferryhill & Chilton's local community newspaper.
