With several parish councils short of the required number of election candidates, has the level of interest in shaping village life waned? GARY PORTER reports.

THE general view is that interest is still alive and well despite some councils having an alarming number of vacancies.

A natural turnover of members, work commitments and lack of awareness of how the councils are formed are reasons that have been given for a lack of candidates in certain areas.

But nobody can put their finger on exactly why big parishes like Malpas and Kelsall are so short this time round.

Russ McGinn, who had a two-year stint as chair of Malpas Parish Council, is stepping down as a councillor to concentrate on his architecture business.

He admits the number of nominations – five candidates for eleven seats – is low but believes the interest is still there and expects the required number of members needed to be co-opted in no problem.

“It’s unusual to be down to five. It normally never goes to election though,” said Mr McGinn.

“There’s been a fair amount of turnover, from my point of view we worked hard for the four years.

“There’s a number of projects that people will still be involved in. It’s been very rewarding.

“I would definitely do it again. It’s a great thing to do if you’re retired. To be effective you have to put a lot of time into it. Sometimes I’ve prioritised council stuff over the business and I can’t keep doing that.”

Mr McGinn says one of the big frustrations of being a member is completing paperwork for Cheshire West and Chester Council.

He explained: “A lot of it is form-filling for the local authority. Lots of questionnaires and consultation.

“It’s difficult. Sometimes you feel you’re being asked just so they can say they’ve asked you, and they’re not listening to what you’re responding to.”

Outgoing Kelsall Parish Council chairman John Leather, who has gone up for election to become a CWaC councillor for the Tarvin and Kelsall ward, admits he doesn’t know why only five candidates have gone forward for nine seats.

“I can’t point to any particular reason. Maybe people assume that the current council will continue,” he said.

“People don’t normally think of standing for parish council elections.

“The group who were elected in 2003 have stayed together for a long time. We’ve ran a lot of big projects in the last few years and people get tired and want a little break.

“It takes a lot of effort to organise all these things. I can see real benefits in the community because of the work of the parish council.”

Mr Leather added: “It will be a burden on five people. They are qualified to continue but hopefully they will co-opt people.

“Sometimes people apply out of the blue. Often we talk to organisations already doing voluntary work in the community to get them to put people forward.”

On the other side of coin, Delamere Parish Council finds itself in the unusual position of having more candidates than seats.

Current chairman Robin Ackerley said: “It’s the first election we’ve had in living memory. It’s new territory for us. It’s very encouraging and nice to see people wanting to get involved in village life.”

He still believes parish councils can make a difference in the community.

“We pressed and pressed for speed limits on the A556, it’s made a big difference and that was something we asked for,” Mr Ackerley explained.

Former Mayor of Chester David Cotgreave, who has served on Tarvin Parish Council for over 40 years, says interest in Tarvin remains strong.

“I can’t speak for any of the other parishes but the interest is still there in Tarvin, I don’t think there has been any lessening of interest,” he said.

“There’s not been many elections over the years. There’s a lot of interest in local activities but not everyone wants to be committed to being a member.”

Cllr Cotgreave admits the pressures of modern life can prevent some people from getting involved in a parish council and it’s easier when you have time on your hands.

“You always have to put work and family first, it’s like a hobby,” he said. “We’ve got a number of reasonably early retired people on our council.”