Do you have an interest in your local community and want to make a difference? Then a local councillor could be the role for you!

With the Dorset local elections taking place on 2 May 2024, this is a great opportunity to stand as a local councillor for Lytchett Minster & Upton.

As well as elections for Dorset Council, elections for all 150+ parish and town councils across the Dorset Council area will take place on this date. If elected, 15 councillors will be elected to Lytchett Minster & Upton Town Council and will serve a 5 year term. The Town Council is the lowest tier of civil administration in the UK and the closest to its community. Councillors are the voice for the community’s concerns, providing guidance and leadership.

What do local councils do?

Local councils were established by legislation over 120 years ago and are democratically accountable to the community. They are able to raise a precept which is a tax charged to local electors to meet their budget requirements as they do not receive direct funding from central government. This money is used to deliver a variety of services. In Lytchett Minster & Upton it is used to fund services and facilities such as play areas, the recreation ground, the cemetery, street furniture, planting displays and green spaces such as Lytchett Bay View.

Lytchett Minster & Upton Town Council meets 11 times a year and is supported by 3 committees.

Can I become a councillor?

You can stand as a candidate to become a town councillor if you are over 18 & a UK or Commonwealth citizen, and meet at least one of the following: 

• You are and will continue to be on the electoral register for Lytchett Minster and Upton; or
• have resided in the parish of  Lytchett Minster and Upton for the past twelve months or rented/tenanted land in the parish; or
• During the last 12 months before the day of your nomination and the day of election your principal place of work is in the parish; or
• you live within three miles (direct) of the Town Council boundary during the whole of the 12 months before the day of your nomination and day of election.

How do I apply to stand as a councillor?

To stand as a candidate, you are required to complete a nomination form which will need to show that you have been formally nominated by a specific number of registered electors in the electoral area. Nomination packs and guidance on how to complete the form can be found on Dorset Council’s website: Dorset Elections 2024

Completed nomination papers must be hand delivered to the Returning Officer, Dorset Council, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XJ between 9.30am and 4pm on any working day after the date of publication of the notice of election on Monday 11 March 2024 (excluding bank holidays) but no later than 4pm on Friday 5 April 2024.

Useful resources:

Electoral Commission 

National Association of Local Councils

What do parish and town councils do in your community? 

What do parish and town councils do across Dorset? 

Why becoming a parish or town councillor in Dorset matters.

Parish and Town Councils are for Everyone