There are two vacancies on the Village Council which may be of interest to community minded residents in Oxenhope.

The following notes aim to give residents who may be interested in being considered for the vacancy, an idea of what is involved. The first two sections give a general overview of the role and responsibilities of the Council and what being a Councillor involves. The third section outlines specific features relating to Oxenhope and the last section sets out what the Council is currently trying to achieve in terms of objectives.

The Role and Responsibilities of a Village Council

Generally the role of a village council is to improve the quality of community life for their parish and its inhabitants. They can: –

  • Give views, on behalf of their community, on planning applications and other proposals that affect the village.
  • Undertake projects and schemes that benefit local residents. In Oxenhope recent examples have included community defibrillators and improvements in the Rose Garden.
  • Work in partnership with others to achieve benefits for the village.
  • Alert relevant authorities e.g. Bradford Council, to problems that arise or work that needs to be undertaken.
  • Help the other tiers of local government keep in touch with their local communities.

What Does Being a Councillor Involve?

A Village Councillor is normally elected for a term of four years at each election. Sometimes councillors are elected at a by-election or, as in this case, by co-option during the four year period.

Village councillors can be from diverse backgrounds and of different ethnicity, genders, ages and beliefs. Their political views do not normally extend into their local council work. What local councillors do all have in common is an interest in their local community and a concern for promoting the best interests of it.

Councillors have 3 main components to their work: –

Decision making – by attending monthly and occasional ad hoc meetings, councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered and what policies should be.

Monitoring – councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working.

Getting involved locally – as local representatives, councillors have responsibilities towards their constituents and local organisations. These responsibilities and duties often depend on what the councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available.

Oxenhope Village Council

Oxenhope Village Council comprises 8 members plus a Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer and a Village Warden, who are paid a salary for undertaking their duties.  Some of the current members were elected uncontested in May 2023 and serve for a four year term of office (but may resign at any time). Others have joined the Council since the election.

The members of the Council elect annually a Chair, currently Ken Eastwood, and a Vice Chair, currently Robert Goulding.

The Council meets on a monthly basis, usually on the second Wednesday of the month. The meeting starts at 7.30, lasts about an hour and a half and is held in public in the Methodist Chapel on West Drive. In addition, further meetings are sometimes called, usually to deal with projects e.g. allotments or topical issues of the day.

Dealing with planning applications is an important part of the work of the Council. The Village Council is a consultee in the planning process; it does not make planning decisions as such, although views expressed by the Council are examined seriously by Bradford Council.

Individual Councillors can also undertake specific tasks in respect of part of the Council’s duties. For example, one Councillor leads on planning matters, others act as liaison with other groups, such as the Neighbourhood Services, Police and Parish Council Liaison group. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the co-opted member will take on extra duties, as the Council tries to match activities with particular interests, as well as taking account of time availability. By and large outside of the monthly meeting the time commitment to the role is not significant.

Oxenhope Village Council – Priorities, Objectives and Approach

The following gives a flavour of the work being taken forward by the Village Council: –

Neighbourhood Development Plan – The Council has developed a Neighbourhood Plan which was adopted following a local referendum. The Village Council sees this as a very important development in shaping Oxenhope over the next 20 years in terms of housing, land development and other related economic activities (more details here). We are keeping a watchful eye on recent changes to national planning policy and seeking to mitigate the impact of additional development within Oxenhope.

Rose Garden – The Village Council manages the garden under a long lease from Bradford Council. The Village Council secured grant funding to begin improvement works including new bench seating, a welcome to Oxenhope information sign and repairs to stone walls. As funds have allowed, further incremental improvements have progressed in the garden. More recent expenditure includes footpath resurfacing, Christmas lights replacement and additions and cherry tree maintenance works, in addition to routine grounds maintenance and grass cutting. Access to the garden has also been improved with a new entrance at Muffin Corner, an improved accessible entrance and new steps and handrails at the West Drive entrances.

Horse Shoe Dam – The Village Council has purchased the Dam from the Duchy of Lancaster, who owned the asset on behalf of the Crown following liquidation of the management company put in place by Skipton Properties Limited. The Council has worked with support from volunteers, to maintain the site for the benefit of the village.

Community Organisations – The Council will work closely with community organisations for the benefit of the whole village.

Services – Many of the services provided in the village are undertaken by other providers, so the Council will do its utmost to ensure that these services are continued and provided effectively. In particular, this will involve close liaison with Bradford Council’s Ward Councillors and key members of Bradford Council, for example in Planning and Highways.

Making Oxenhope’s views known – The Council will make every attempt to ensure that the views of the village are known and heard, as far as possible, with the objective of influencing important decisions concerning provision of services and policy decisions taken by others. This includes the key area of planning policy, land allocations for new housing and infrastructure improvements.

More Information

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) produces an essential guide for local councillors. The guide is a resource primarily aimed at new councillors but also can be for those thinking about becoming a local councillor. Good Councillors Guide 2024.

For any further enquiries or questions please contact the Clerk, Jill Eastwood, or any member of the Council. Contact details for members are here and the Clerk’s can be found on the contact page.