Chearsley Village Parish Council Elections 2025

As noted in Chearsley News on 10 January, elections for Chearsley Parish Council will be held on 1 May 2025, along with other local elections.  Most of the existing Councillors have now indicated that they do not intend to stand for re-election, which means other villagers will be needed to form a new Council.
Nominations to stand as a Chearsley Parish Councillor open on Tuesday 18 March and close on Wednesday 2 April 2025. More details here.  This article provides more information on being a Parish Councillor in Chearsley and has been developed in consultation with the current Parish Council.

The Role of the Parish Council
Parish Councils can do a lot of things.  In theory Chearsley Parish Council has the same powers available to it as Aylesbury Town Council although in practice, most of those powers are not needed in a small village like ours.  A lot of information is available online about the different things that Parish Councils do, but this article focusses on Chearsley.

The work of the current Parish Council generally falls into different categories.
Everyday Maintenance.  This involves things like ensuring the green spaces, footpaths and historic sunken lanes are maintained, keeping grit bins in good repair and filled during the winter, keeping our larger trees pruned and maintaining street furniture, e.g. benches, footpath signs, etc.
Planning.  Reviewing all planning applications with a policy of supporting householder ambitions wherever possible but opposing those that patently do not fit with the village appearance. The Council also liaises with Bucks Council where possible on wider planning policy.
Highways.  The Council is constantly working to improve safety by reducing speeding and heavy traffic through the village. It has upgraded village entry gates, had road marking modified and installed traffic speed indicators, all to try and reduced speeding.  It also works with and lobbies Bucks Council on traffic control measures and on measures to keep our road surfaces in good condition.
Larger projects. This covers a variety of topics.  Kerbing has been installed/repaired in a number of  village locations to try and reduce/repair damage from vehicles: there is a long-term project to reshape the road junction at the centre of the village – now on hold due to lack of funds: the need for a village car park has recently been agreed and possible sites identified: and the Council has recently taken the first steps towards developing a Neighbourhood Development Plan for the village, although is not yet committed to proceeding – a decision for the new Council.
Background Tasks.  There is a lot of liaison/engagement with other Parish Councils and branches of Bucks Council to help influence policy and ensure Chearsley gets a full share of County resources. There is also significant support to the village community in a myriad of small ways.
Finance and Administration.  The Council is responsible for setting a ‘precept’ each year, (i.e. the money it gets from Chearsley households as part of their Council tax) to fund its activities, and ensuring proper use and management of those public funds.  It appoints a non-Councillor RFO (Responsible Financial Officer) to oversee that activity. It also employs a professional Parish Clerk to act as meeting secretary and general advisor on how it operates.

It should be emphasised however that this list is what the Council does now, having worked up to it over a number of years.  A new Council would probably not want to do all this immediately.  The essentials are everyday maintenance, planning applications and looking after the money.  The rest can follow when the Council is ready.
 
Qualifications needed to be a Chearsley Parish Councillor
The legal eligibility, in brief, is to be 18 or over, a British Citizen, live or work in the area and be a registered elector.   Full details here. 
Beyond that, the best things to consider would be:

• Do you enjoy living in Chearsley and care about the village?
• Do you have an opinion or innovative ideas on what needs doing in the village?
• Do you like to help get things done?
• Are you able to discuss issues with others then make decisions?
• Can you get on a phone to arrange for work to be done?
• Do you have professional skills or knowledge that could help the village?

If your answer is yes to even some of these questions you are qualified to be a Chearsley Parish Councillor.

Some concerns you might have
A decision to stand for election as a Parish Councillor is certainly a big step to take. However, experience shows it can also turn out to be a very rewarding step and one that leads to significant personal development.

What might your concerns be?
“I have a demanding job and don’t have time”.  Undoubtedly one of the biggest barriers and one experienced by many of the existing Councillors.  However, everyone just gives what they can - even a little of your time can be hugely valuable to the community.
“I don’t know anything about the job”.  This really doesn’t matter.  Training is available if you want it but more important, at the end of the day, the job is what you make it.
“But the retiring team has so much experience – I can’t possibly match that”.  That’s true but some of them have been at it for a long time!  They learned as they went along and will still be around and willing to share that learning if and when you want it.
“I wouldn’t like the complaints I’m likely to get”.  There aren’t many and the village is very appreciative and supportive of the work done by the Council.
“I don’t like the idea of having to be elected”.  It’s certainly a new experience for most but turns out not to be that difficult.  There’s no need for hustings, speeches, debates, etc.  A simple statement of why you’d like to do the job is a good idea (but not essential) and Chearsley News can help with distributing that.

Finally
Most of us living in Chearsley consider it to be a delightful place to live. The village does however need looking after to keep it that way and the role of the Parish Council is to do that. Without new Councillors in May we can expect to notice the effects.

So the message to everyone in the village is:

Please think very carefully if you could be a Chearsley Parish Councillor

And if you could, please put your name forward for nomination.
 
Nic, John and other Councillors will be happy to chat to you about the role if you want. Contact details here