Parish Council elections

Page Contents

Introduction

Parish Councils form the first tier of local government and there are 26 within the Peterborough City Council area.

The 26 Parish Councils in Peterborough are:

Ailsworth	Etton	Marholm	Orton Waterville	Thornhaugh
Bainton & Ashton	Eye	Maxey	Peakirk	Ufford
Barnack	Glinton	Deeping Gate	Southorpe	Wansford
Bretton	Hampton	Northborough	Sutton	Wittering
Castor	Helpston	Orton Longueville	Thorney
Newborough & Borough Fen	Wothorpe & St Martin’s Without*

*Pending completion of Grouping Order

Parish Councillors

Parish Councils are made up of locally elected Parish Councillors.

To qualify to be a Parish Councillor you must be:

A British citizen, or a citizen of the Commonwealth or the European Union and;
At least 18 on the day you are nominated as a candidate

And either:

A registered local government elector within the parish or;
A resident in the parish, or live within three miles of the parish, or work full time in the parish for at least 12 months prior to the nomination or election day.

A person is disqualified from holding office as a parish or town councillor if:

They hold a paid office, or other place of profit in the council.
They are the subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or interim order.
The have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three months or more (including a suspended sentence), without the option of a fine, during the five years before polling day.

Parish Councillors can also be co-opted in line with Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1985 which allows the Parish Council to fill vacancies remaining unfilled following an ordinary election if the Council believes that it is in the interests of the parish.

If you would like to be considered please contact the Clerk or Chair of the relevant Parish Council.

Eligibility for co-option, is as follows:

(a) 21 years of age, and;

(b) either:

Be a local government elector for the parish, or;
Be an occupier (owner or tenant) of land or premises in the parish for the previous 12 months, or;
Have their place of work in the parish for the previous 12 months, or;
Have resided in the parish for the previous 12 months, or;
Have resided within three miles of the parish boundary for the previous 12 months.

There may be other restrictions and further information can be found on the Electoral Commission website.

Elections take place every four years or when a seat becomes vacant. Different parishes hold their elections on different years and there is one year without any local elections (fallow year). If there are the same number of candidates as there are seats available, no election is required and the seats are allocated to the candidates.

In some circumstances it is possible to be on a Parish Council when living outside the area. For more information contact electoralservices@peterborough.gov.uk

If you have been elected as a Parish Councillor you may find the documents at the end of this page useful. Declaration of Office and Members Interest forms can also be obtained from, and should be returned to the Parish Clerk in the first instance who will then forward them to Peterborough City Council.