Your local (parish and town) council has overall responsibility for the wellbeing of your local community. Their work falls into three main categories:

• Delivery of services
• Improve quality of life for residents
• Give communities a democratic voice

Local councils run numerous services, depending on the size of the council.

Many you will see day-to-day, but some are less known. These include introducing solar panels, setting up dementia-friendly groups, organising community buses, creating neighbourhood plans, implementing suitable housing, establishing youth projects, managing allotments and open spaces, maintaining footpaths, public seating and litter bins.

As a local councillor you can become a voice for your community and make real change. Local councillors are the champions of their community who invest time in local projects and issues to the benefit of residents and the neighbourhood.

Local councillor responsibilities fall into three main categories:

• Decision-making
• Monitoring
• Getting involved locally

Local councillors attend to local needs of residents, local groups and businesses, make decisions on local services, collaborate with district and borough councils to adhere to local needs, and progress vital projects to invest in the future of the community.

You do not need any official qualifications to become a Councillor, but a desire to put something into the community and a willingness to get involved certainly help! When you become a councillor, you must by law complete an entry in the Town Council’s Register of Members’ interests. This involves registering both your interests and those of your spouse or civil partner (or person with whom you are living as such). Information required includes disclosable pecuniary interests and covers areas such as employment, sponsorship, securities, contracts, land and membership of other bodies on the public record. This will be available for anyone to see on the Council’s website.

You can be elected as a Town Councillor in one of two ways, either:

• at a local election, or
• by co-option

To stand for election to a local council you must be:

• A UK or Commonwealth citizen; or be a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; or be a citizen of another Member State of the European Union
• At least 18 years old
• An elector of the local council; or in the past 12 months occupied land or other premises in the area the local council serves (as owner or tenant); or work in the area local council serves (as your principal or only place of work); or live within three miles of the local council boundary

Town Council, Parish Council and District Council elections all happen at the same time in Sedgemoor and are organised by the District Council. They take place every four years, and the last election was in May 2015. If you live locally, generally you will only need to have someone local nominate you for election to get your name on the ballot paper. When there are more candidates than vacancies, the election is termed “contested”, and you will then be able to canvass your voters. Whichever thirteen candidates get the most votes will become councillors.

If there are fewer candidates than vacancies, the election is termed “uncontested”, and you will duly become a Town Councillor after the election.

Any unfilled vacancies at any point in the electoral cycle can be filled by co-option. This means that the vacancy for a Town Councillor is advertised publicly, and each application received will be voted on by existing councillors at a Town Council meeting until one person is elected.

If you apply for a vacancy, you will be asked to fill in a simple form confirming your local status and asking why you wish to become a councillor, and letting us know about any relevant interests or expertise.