IN JUST three weeks time voters across the Cotswolds will go to the polls to choose who will make decisions on small but important local issues such as grass cutting, allotments and footpaths.

Along with the parliamentary elections on Thursday, May 7, voters will also be given the opportunity to elect members to their town or parish council.

But not everyone in the Cotswolds will have this chance – in Moreton only seven nominations have been made for a total of 11 seats, meaning no election will be held and all seven will be elected automatically.

There will also be no election in Shipston, where 13 nominations have been made for a total of 13 positions, as well as the south-east ward of Bourton, where only two candidates have come forward for three seats. However, an election will be held in the village ward of Bourton, where nine nominations have been made for eight seats.

Shipston mayor Cllr Philip Vial said he was intensely disappointed people in the town would not have a chance to elect members of the town council for the next four years.

Although he said he was pleased with the work he and his colleagues had achieved in the seven years since he was elected to the council, Cllr Vial said a number of decisions, particularly those around planning issues, had come under heavy criticism.

“I’m disappointed that none of our critics chose to stand,” he said.

There are a number of reasons why this may happen.

“People are disconnected from politics – there’s a tendency to say ‘they’re all the same’.

“That and being a town councillor takes many hours a week of work for no financial reward.

“It’s a shame – I was an opposition councillor on Stratford District Council for a year and achieved nothing. I achieve far more as a member of a town council for the residents of the town I love every month.”

Among powers held by town and parish are providing and maintaining village halls, allotments, parks and recreation grounds, cemeteries and footpaths. They are also responsible for litter picking, maintaining war memorials and encouraging tourism.

They are funded by a precept on council tax bills within their jurisdiction. The proportion of a household’s council tax paid to a town or parish total is viewable on each annual bill.

Town and parish councils have exactly the same powers and are different in name only. Although such organisations are known as parish councils by default, they are able to refer to themselves as town, village, neighbourhood or community council.

Although the leader of a town council is entitled to be known as the mayor rather than chairman, this is only a ceremonial title.

Each council will vote on its chairman, vice-chairman and committee members at its first public meeting following the election.

TOWN AND PARISH COUNCIL CANDIDATES

Bourton-on-the-Water Parish Council, village ward:
Number of seats: 8

Candidates:
James Cowen
John Harden
Lynda Hicks
John Hovard
Sandra Morgan
Nigel Randall
Julian Stocker
Bryan Sumner
Richard Vann

Bourton-on-the-Water Parish Council, south east ward (uncontested):
Number of seats: 3

Candidates:
Tim Faulkner
Bill Wragge

Broadway Parish Council
Number of seats: 13

Candidates:
Rachel Clements
David Folkes
Gordon Franks
Dom Hardiman
Antony Holmes
Graham Love
Gerry O’Brien
Barrie Parmenter
Frederick Penny
Nigel Robinson
Ros Rogers
Sue Stephenson
John Williams
Connie Wilson

Chipping Campden Town Council
Number of seats: 11
Candidates:

Michael Allchin
Bill Buckland
Clive Constable
Jay Draper
John Ellis
Graham Greenall
Michael Haines
Liz Hodges
Christopher Jones
Robert King
Teresa Newman
Richard Orr

Chipping Norton Town Council
Number of seats: 16
Candidates:

Charles Averill
Richard Benfield
Christopher Butterworth
Eve Coles
Alex Corfield
Don Davidson
Jo Graves
Tahirul Hasan
David Heyes
Martin Jarratt
Steve Jordan
James Kitcher
Glen Pashley
Annie Roy-Barker
Claire Sexton
Jim Stanley
Mike Tysoe
Andrew Villars
Mark Walker

Moreton Town Council, east ward (uncontested)
Number of seats: 6
Candidates:

Lys Cowap
Tom Lewis

Moreton Town Council, west ward (uncontested)
Number of seats: 5
Candidates:

Alison Coggins
Thomas Fawcett
Michael Lucas
Jeff Martin
Ana Whitworth

Shipston Town Council (uncontested)
Number of seats: 13
Candidates:

Brian Cooper
Ian Cooper
Martin Ferrier
Ali Henderson
Fay Ivens
Ronnie Murphy
Kim Perry
Paul Rathkey
Sheelagh Saunders
Daniel Scobie
Jackie Warner
Marianne Westwood
Peter White

Stow Town Council
Number of seats: 11
Candidates:

Simon Clarke
Richard Clifford
Mike Curtis
Valerie Ann Davies
Ben Eddolls
Tom Edwards
Anthony Ferrige
Susan Green
Michael Moseley
Jennifer Scarsbrook
Colin Smalley
Chris Turner
Alun White

Winchcombe Town Council
Number of seats: 13
Candidates:

Pippa Bowyer
Rupert Chislett
Jim Davies
Ron Harrison
Jim Mason
Stuart Maughan
Russell Parker
Judith Petchey
Tim Petchey
Adam Phillips
Sue Sturgeon
Richard Wakeford
Kevin Willett
Michael Wynne

Broadway Parish Council
Number of seats: 13
Candidates:

Rachel Clements
David Folkes
Gordon Franks
Dom Hardiman
Antony Holmes
Graham Love
Gerry O’Brien
Barrie Parmenter
Frederick Penny
Nigel Robinson
Ros Rogers
Sue Stephenson
John Williams
Connie Wilson