If so, your Town Council NEEDS YOU. Local councillors can make a huge difference to the quality of life of local residents and how local issues are dealt with, and you don’t need any experience or special qualifications to be a candidate for co-option on to Burscough Town Council. To be eligible you must be 18 or older, a registered elector for the area, and lived or work within Burscough for the past 12 months. Skills gained from various life experiences are valuable commodities and will be useful when carrying out roles and representing the community and managing council business.
Councillors shape the future of the local area by making plans and taking decisions. Local councils promote strategies, policies and plans to achieve the vision for the local area, making the best use of resources and meeting the needs of local communities. As a councillor you will help create these through attendance at the regular working group meetings outlined below. Minutes of meetings, along with any proposals for consideration by all council members, are then fed into the agenda for the monthly full town council meetings.
With the exception of the Planning & Footpaths Committee, all working groups are generally held during daytime hours, 4 to 6 weeks apart.
Whilst not mandatory, councillors will be expected to be available to join at least three of the below working groups. Attendance via Zoom is an option.
- Capital Projects – Matters involving large CIL and budgetary town council projects.
- Civic Events – organize and manage public events that promote community engagement and celebrate important local occasions.
- Climate Issues – advocates for local policies that promote sustainability and taking action to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change in the local community.
- Finance – focuses on managing and reviewing an organization’s financial matters, internal and external Auditors, grant awards etc.
- Interchange Building – All matters relating to the town council offices and three community rooms.
- Neighbourhood Plan – developing and overseeing the creation, or revision, of a Neighbourhood Plan for the local area.
- Newsletter & Publicity – Responsible for creating content and distribution of the town council newsletter and managing media and publicity efforts.
- Personnel – to address specific issues or projects relating to town council personnel and promote employee well-being.
- Planning & Footpaths – To review planning applications for new developments or land changes in the local area.
- Street Scene – Focuses on the cleanliness, safety, and aesthetics of local roads, streets and public spaces, plus seasonal events.
- Traffic and Transport – addresses traffic-related issues and problems and identifying possible solutions.
Burscough Town Council Meetings are usually held monthly at 7 pm on the third Wednesday of each month.
Planning & Footpaths Meetings are usually held monthly at 7pm on the first Wednesday of each month.
Vacancies:
1 x Vacancy – Ellerbrook Ward
1 x Vacancy – Richmond Park Ward
1 x Vacancy – St John’s Ward
1 x Vacancy – Stanley Ward
Contact Town Clerk – Jackie Maguire – jackie.maguire@burscoughtc.org.uk or telephone 01704 894914, for further information.