Becoming a
Parish Councillor
How Can I Become a Councillor?
The job of a councillor is to represent the needs of
the whole community by working closely with the other councillors,
the Chairman and the Clerk. Martham has eleven councillors.
To stand for the Parish Council a person has to be an
elector, be over 18 and a British or Commonwealth citizen or an EU
National. They must also
have resided in the parish or within three miles of it, for the
whole twelve months prior to nomination, as a property owner or
tenant or have worked in the Parish for that time.
A councillor cannot act as such until they have signed a declaration of acceptance of office and agreed to abide by the Code of Conduct. A councillor must register specific financial interests within 28 days of being elected.
Councillors normally serve for a term of four years. Elections are advertised in the local press and on the village notice boards. Occasionally an existing councillor may resign or, sadly, die in which case any qualifying person can stand for election. If no-one shows an interest in being elected for a vacancy the existing councillors can adopt a new member of their choice. Further details are available from the clerk