Crick Parish Council
The Parish Council in Crick, like all Parish Councils provides an essential service to the village and acts as a bridge to the local, more powerful local council, in our case - West Northamptonshire Council.
The Parish Council (PC) has very few direct powers, but it is essentially responsible for keeping the village safe and tidy and enabling it to thrive. The PC administers various contracts including grass-cutting of all Public Open Spaces and street-lighting (amongst other things) and is also consulted on planning matters that affect the village. Having an effective and supportive Parish Council is crucial for a myriad of reasons – community concerns, managing resources, undertaking local projects and initiatives, providing and upkeep essential services and spaces, the list could go on and on.
Our village enjoys some fantastic amenities that were originally purchased or acquired by the Parish Council on behalf of the village but which the PC has devolved to local organisations to manage. This policy has worked really well and the village is significantly enhanced by having these well-run facilities, which include the Playing Field, the Sports Centre, the Allotments and of course, the Woodlands. In 2022 when Crick was awarded the Gold Village Award, the judges specifically cited these organisations as exemplars.
The PC is heavily controlled by law in terms of its powers, how it collects money and how it distributes and spends that money. We are kept 'legal' by our very capable clerk and assistant clerk who organise the monthly meetings, manage and report on the finances, administer the PC website and are the first point of contact for the village.
Upcoming Local Elections
As you may be aware, local elections will take place across England, allowing residents to elect representatives at various levels of government. This will be on the 1st May, 2025. For Crick, this includes elections to Crick Parish Council, which represents the first tier of local government. Every four years, all current local councillors have to stand down and are up for re-election.
These elections provide Crick residents with the opportunity to influence how the examples above are carried out by voting for candidates that best represent their views and voices. West Northamptonshire Council seats are also up for election, and as Crick councillors work frequently alongside them, this means that a Crickite's vote can actually go further than you might think; it's a chance to be involved with decisions made at a regional level.
One of the first things on your checklist should be ensuring you are registered to vote. Click here for more information. You can apply by postal vote, proxy or popping to a polling station on the day of election - it's up to you! Remember, you will need photo ID if using a polling station.
Becoming a Parish Councillor
If you have some spare time, energy, resilience, and a passion for Crick's future, perhaps consider standing for election.
The role of a Parish Councillor is essentially two-fold.
One is to be part of the council and vote on matters and issues that are relevant to the village as a whole. This includes consulting with, and listening to, the needs and concerns of the village and acting on these appropriately, when it is possible to do so.
The other is to individually take on lead roles within the council, for example:
- Responsibility for our many Public Rights of Way, planning matters, highway matters etc.
- Representing the Parish Council on many of the village organisations, particularly those that are managing village-owned assets, such as The Playing Field, the Woodlands, the Sports Centre etc.
- Lead contact with organisations such as Highways England and the Police
Being a Parish Councillor requires creativity and knowing how to solve problems as a team. Parish Councillors are volunteers and receive no renumeration for any work that they do.
As a Parish Councillor, you will be contributing to maintaining and improving the fantastic village in which we all live, and these elections present a wonderful opportunity to bring in new people, people with ideas, people with diverse backgrounds and experiences and people in different age-groups.
To become nominated as a candidate, you need to submit a completed set of nomination papers to the place fixed by the Returning Officer by 4pm on Wednesday 2nd of April 2025. The start date from which you will be able to submit nomination papers, as well as the times and place for delivery, will be set out in the notice of election published by the local Returning Officer. This is expected to be published on Friday 14 March 2025.
Personal statement from Councillor Chapman
"Taking on the role of being a Parish Councillor was not something I did lightly. I knew it would be a commitment, but I was not put off by this. After some time thinking about it and weighing up the odds, I decided that I wanted to apply. The village needs Parish Councillors to make it function. I didn't realise how important the role was until I was 3 months in. It astounded me at how much there was going on in Crick.
I was pleased that I had put myself forward. Since day one, it has been a role that I have felt is worthy of my time and effort. I knew there would be hiccups along the way and I had a lot to learn, but I was keen to see if I could help. Training is well organised and offered regularly, all courses that I have taken have been short, easy to understand, useful, not only for the role, but also great for personal development.
No one takes on a role like this thinking that they will be able to make significant change straight away, or have a political agenda, certainly I didn't. However, there is an incredible wholesome feeling and sense of achievement to be gained from getting involved with a group of enthusiastic and genuinely lovely people. The Parish Council is a community asset and the volunteers that put themselves forward to help, are doing it for their own peace of mind, to know that Crick is looked out for. Parish Councils are essential in rural areas like Crick. Our village cannot be left in the dark when larger councils or even Government want to draft out county and country wide schemes which might not suit or fit with the dynamic of our village life. Our voice is important and getting together to tackle important issues is a big part of being a parish councillor.
I have lived in Crick for eight years now and have two children that have attended the Primary School and one toddler that now goes to the mums and tots group. I also volunteer as a leader to help run the local Explorer Scout section. Volunteering is something that takes up about a third of my personal time, after work. I fully believe in volunteering and giving my time and attention to the local community. There is a lot to be gained from getting involved and helping others. It is rewarding, fun, challenging and it builds life skills.
I was incredibly lucky to have a positive childhood, in a village which was made fun to live in with an active community, due to the volunteers that got together to create something special for everyone to enjoy and be to be proud of. I can draw a lot of similarities between my childhood home and Crick. We have a brilliantly active community, not only for children but also for adults. We have a beautiful village, in a lovely rural location, with many assets in the community. Some of those assets are people, who tirelessly give up their time to just give a few hours a week to help, in the way that they know how. I would highly encourage anyone who feels that they could give their time and their voice, to join the Parish Council."
