Northants CALC

Our new Winter/Spring 2012 schedule of Training Opportunities can be found here on the County Training Partnership page.  The courses  will be of interest to both Clerks and Councillors alike. 

If you wish to make a booking for any of the courses, please complete the booking form.  A separate booking form should be used for each course.  Please provide an e mail address for  each delegate where possible.

Completed booking forms should be returned to Anne Kirkland, either via e mail at akirkland@northantscalc.gov.uk or by post.

Welcome to the latest edition of eUpdate, the bi-monthly newsletter of the Northamptonshire County Association of Local Councils (Northants CALC).

In this edition you will find a report on the Localism Act 2011, with a prediction of what various elements of it will mean for parish and town councils, news from around the county, including from one council that was awarded £49,500 of Heritage Lottery Funding, a report from the Association’s AGM held in October, details of special offers, news of all the forthcoming training courses and all the usual features, including situations vacant and the Chief’s Brief.

As usual, if you have any comments, feedback or observations we’re always delighted to hear from you!

Download your copy of eUpdate now!

Whilton Parish Council and Hardingstone Parish Council are both looking for a new Clerk to the Council.

Whilton is between Northampton and Daventry and has an electorate of 247 people. The vacancy is for 20 hours per month.  

Download the Whilton vacancy notice.

Hardingstone is a larger parish in the borough of Northampton and has 1,650 electors.

The vacancy is for 50 hours per month.  Download the Hardingstone vacancy notice. 

Peter Taylor is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and a partner at law firm DLA Piper.  He specialises in planning law and is experienced in planning applications, development plan proposals, structure and local planning inquiries, planning appeals and planning inquiries.

On 22 October 2011 Peter was guest speaker at the AGM of the Association and his presentation, entitled “A Brave New Planning World” can be downloaded here. Or click here for a printable PDF version.

Northampton will look different again in 100 years.

The 64th Annual General Meeting and Conference takes place at the Saxon Hall in Raunds on Saturday 22 October 2011 from 9:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Our guest speaker this year is Mr Peter Taylor (see biog), resident of the county and a partner specialising in planning in the law firm DLA Piper. The title of Peter’s talk is “A Brave New Planning World” and he will bring delegates up to speed with national changes as well as outlining what it all means for communities.

Packs have been sent out to registered delegates containing the draft Annual Report 2010/2011, the Minutes of the 2010 AGM, and the programme and agenda for the 2011 AGM.

Delegates will be treated to bacon rolls on arrival and cake in the mid-session break, so it promises to be a Saturday morning well worth making the effort for!

Delegates wishing to plan their travel can click here for a Google map.

Please email Anne Kirkland with any questions or particular requirements for the day.

In July the Cabinet Office published the Open Public Services White Paper, which said that “Open Public Services will encourage innovation and give people more choice and control over the services they use by putting power directly in the hands of millions of families and thousands of communities.”

Section 4 of the white paper referred to neighbourhood services and said “We want to do much more to reinvigorate the most local forms of government – parish, town and community councils – and allow them to take control of key local services, ensuring that these opportunities are available to everyone in the community.”

Northants CALC’s response to section 4 of the white paper is available to read here.

Welcome to the latest edition of eUpdate, the bi-monthly newsletter from Northants CALC.

This issue contains: details of the support package available to parish and town councils to help them get to grips with the proposed new planning framework, a reminder to complete the Northants CALC Councillor Survey (deadline 2 October), the announcement of the 2011 Parish Power photo competition, an article entitled “Eight Basic Expectations a Clerk Has of His or Her Council”, and signposts and links to funding opportunities for community facilities, playing fields, open green spaces, sports facilities and rural enterprises (yes, there’s money out there for all those things!). There’s also the regular features of The Chief’s Brief, A Cautionary Tale and Situations Vacant.

Click here to download your copy now.

UK Older People’s Day is being held on 1 October 2011 to coincide with the UN International Day of Older Persons. This will be the fifth year the Day has been celebrated in the UK and we hope to build on the successes of previous years. Last year, there were over 3,000 events registered, which attracted approximately 700,000 people. The Government and other supporting groups, under the “Full of Life” banner, have made UK Older People’s Day the focus of a wide programme of activity, celebrating later life. The aim is to start to tackle out-dated stereotypes about later life by highlighting the valuable contribution older people make to our society and economy and to celebrate their opportunities, achievements and aspirations. The theme for this year is getting and staying active in later life, which we hope will encourage people to be active and raise awareness of the benefits that physical, social and mental activity brings.

Hundreds of events, big and small, will be taking place all around the country, on or around 1 October. Activities already registered include digital photography for beginners in Leicester, Zumba dancing in Bolton and Wii sports events in Coventry. Many organisations are simply using one of their existing activities on or around the day to mark the occasion.

If you would like to get involved, please register your event on the Full of Life homepage (http://fulloflife.direct.gov.uk/index.html) where you can find lots of tools and resources to help set up your event.  Join them on Facebook to help promote events and raise awareness of the day. Let us know how your events have gone and share your pictures.

Deanshanger Parish Council has an immediate vacancy for Clerk to the Council. Deanshanger is in South Northamptonshire with an electorate of 2,945 and a precept for 2011/12 of £95,440. 

Click here to download the vacancy notice.

Welcome to the latest edition of eUpdate, the bi-monthly newsletter from Northants CALC.

This edition features all the latest news on the Localism Bill and Neighbourhood Planning and has a first look at the recently published Open Public Services white paper. There are details of a free mapping offer, information on how you can help Northamptonshire get superfast broadband, and an article from the Clerk to Roade Parish Council on his recent busman’s trip to America. Plus all the usual features including a cautionary tale, details of forthcoming training events and three situations vacant. There’s even an advert for some dog bins for sale!

Download your eUpdate here.