A campaign has been launched to find candidates to contest each seat on Peasedown St John Parish Council in the May 2023 Local Elections.

The campaign is being run by current Peasedown St John Parish Councillor, Gavin Heathcote, who also chairs the Peasedown Community Trust. He is accusing the Parish Council of not being transparent in its decision making and says change is needed: “The public in Peasedown feel massively let down by the Parish Council. Tax hikes, secret meetings and unpopular spending decisions have led to huge levels of distrust.

“We need a Parish Council that is open, transparent, and not afraid to face the public.

“Most residents don’t know that Peasedown has seventeen Parish Councillors. I bet if I sat outside Tesco on a Saturday and straw-polled the public, I wouldn’t be able to find one person who could name more than two or three Parish Councillors!”

Tanya West, Peasedown St John Parish Council Clerk, told The Journal: “I would encourage any person interested in standing at the next Parish Council elections in May 2023 to come to a Council meeting prior to standing.

“All summonsed Council meetings are open to the public and are held at Beacon Hall. The agendas for these meetings are published on our website, on our notice boards, and on our Facebook page. Attendance at a meeting or two would provide a very good insight into what is involved in being a Councillor.

“Prospective candidates could also attend a Councillor Surgery to speak with some of the Parish Councillors directly (these are held monthly).

“All Peasedown St John Parish Councillors can be contacted directly via our website and the Parish Council publishes a newsletter four times a year and provides regular updates on our Facebook page as to what the Parish Council is doing.

“I am happy to answer any questions and provide relevant information to give people a bit of background on the criteria required to stand and what is involved in being a Parish Councillor.

“In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from those members of the public wishing to stand for election in due course.”

The new campaign group, Peasedown Together, will stand seventeen candidates in the May 2023 local elections and wants to hear from any residents who want to sign up to take part. The candidates will put together a manifesto that will be presented to the public in a year’s time.

Would you like to stand as a candidate in the May 2023 Peasedown Parish Council Elections? If so, contact Gavin and the Peasedown Together team at [email protected]