Newark Town Council is currently seeking a new Town Clerk

Newark-on-Trent is an historic market Town dating back to the 12th century, situated in north Nottinghamshire between Nottingham and Lincoln.

The Town itself has an imposing 12th Century Castle, Civil War connections and a lovely cobbled marketplace featuring its Georgian Town Hall. Oliver Cromwell fought battles against the Royalists just outside Newark and King John was poisoned and died at the Castle.

Newark was granted its own Coat of Arms by Queen Elizabeth I in 1561, incorporating the beaver, otter and eel, all references to the Town’s location on the river Trent. Its motto ‘Deo Fretus Erumpe’ translates as, ‘Trust in God and sally forth’.

In 1626, Charles I raised the status of Alderman to that of Mayor and Henry Gill was elected the first Mayor of Newark that same year. The Town Mayor’s role is that of civic representative for the Town. The majority of Mayors have been men but there have been several female Mayors, the first being Kate A Quibell, 1957-58.

The “Clerk to the Council” is the only officer that the Town Council is required to appoint. S/he is the custodian of documents and records such as accounts, minutes and order books and is the professional advisor to the Council. This appointment goes back to 1579 when the “common clerk” was appointed to collect the fees from the market traders.

The River Trent has played an integral role in the life of Newark for many centuries. Before other means of transport were developed, the river was the only practical way to transport large and heavy goods over long distances as well as access to the sea for overseas trading. The river banks housed a thriving inland port with wharves, warehouses, mills, maltings and breweries which brought employment and wealth to the Town.

The nearby Sherwood Forest provided much timber, particularly oak during the medieval period from which many large buildings in and around Newark were constructed. As available timber became more scarce for buildings, through the reduction in stock and the demand for oak for ship-building, stone and brick became more popular, but several fine examples of timber-constructed buildings can still be seen.

During the years between 1714 and 1830, the whole of Great Britain enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity, leading to a boom in house building. This was typified by the Georgian style, characterised by geometric proportion and balance in the pattern of windows and doors, and associated columns, parapets and pediments. Newark developed such styles and became known as a Georgian Town with many grand examples of the Georgian period, one of which is the Town Hall, completed in 1776 by John Carr of York but influenced by Robert Adam with whom he worked on Harewood House. The famous composer and pianist Franz Liszt gave a concert in the Town Hall on 11 September 1840. The Town Hall now houses the Town Council and Town Treasures and Art Gallery.

Although Newark has its historical connections, along side its medieval and Georgian buildings, Newark’s streets host many buildings in the Art Deco style which originated in the 1920s and 30s, deriving its name from Paris’s “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes” in 1925.

For over 250 years, until the second half of the 20th century, Newark stood at the heart of English brewing and malting industries. With good water supplies and transportation facilities, and with easy reach to barley-growing areas, the Town had many advantages over its rivals, and became known as “The Metropolis of Malt”. Many varieties of beer and malt were produced in vast quantities for local consumption and exported around the world.

A statutory duty of the Council is responsibility for the Cemetery which dates from 1856. Many notable Newark residents are buried in the Cemetery which is also a burial place for a large number of Polish servicemen who perished during the Second World War.

In keeping with the objectives of the European Union, Newark has twinning arrangements with the following Continental Towns: Emmendingen, Germany (in 1984), St Cyr-sur-Loire, France (1992) and Sandomierz, Poland (2006). In addition to these associations, the Town also maintains sister links with several other Newarks of the world.

Newark enjoys excellent road and rail links situated on the A1 and the main East Coast railway lines including the developing Eurolink network, and is within easy reach of both the Nottingham East Midlands International Airport, and the Robin Hood Airport at Doncaster. The east Lincolnshire coast is only an hour away by rail or road.

Nottinghamshire County Council and its neighbour, Lincolnshire, offer a variety of school options, including comprehensive and grammar schools with adequate bus services linking the Town and the schools. In and around Newark, there is a wide range of leisure and sports facilities, museums, community centres, theatres, parks and open spaces. The Council has a commitment to produce a variety of events such as Newark in Bloom, Brass Band concerts in the Castle grounds, Tea Dances in the Ballroom of the Town Hall, and the wonderful Christmas Lights celebrations.

Lymington was recently judged to be the most attractive seaside town in the south. Its town centre is a conservation area, with many buildings dating from the Georgian period and earlier. It has a thriving marina with two popular and prestigious sailing clubs. There is a rich selection of characterful pubs and welcoming restaurants with menus to suit all pockets. The busy Saturday street market, originating from a charter signed 800 years ago, attracts visitors and shoppers from a wide area and is always especially crowded on sunny summer weekends.

The town is conveniently situated just 11 miles across the New Forest from junction 1 of the M27. There is a main line station 4 miles away at Brockenhurst with frequent fast trains to London. Inter-city trains connect with most regions of the UK. Southampton and Bournemouth airports and shopping centres are within a 45 minute drive. Wightlink provides a 24 hour vehicle and passenger ferry service to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. Housing is relatively expensive, especially in Lymington itself, though prices in Pennington are a little more affordable. Current prices for a three-bed family home of average status range between £250,000 and £400,000.

Pennington, which lies to the west of the main town, is a significant residential area that is still remembered for the small rural community that it used to be a century ago. Many families whose roots can be traced back over generations still consider it to be their ‘village’. Pennington Common is a popular recreational area, especially for dog walkers. Parts of it are also protected sites of special scientific interest. In the summer months it often accommodates circuses, fun fairs and summer events.

Pennington also includes tracts of salt marshes where the layout of the former salt pans is still visible in the pools and lakes of the area, The abundant wildlife includes thriving colonies of marine and marshland birds and is a destination of choice for ornithologists. The coastal path from Lymington to Keyhaven provides an invigorating walk affording magnificent views of the Isle of Wight.

The Council is responsible for the maintenance of over 200 acres of recreational open space, the largest example of which comprises Woodside Gardens and park to the south-west of the town. Here formal gardens, play and sports facilities sit side by side. There are further full-sized sports pitches, along with the Lymington Bowling and Tennis clubs, near the centre of the town. Pennington also has a spacious sports ground adjacent to a popular sports club. The Council also manages a unique outdoor lido.

The 571 km²  of the New Forest, one of the UK’s most popular rural tourist venues, is right on Lymington’s doorstep, with its vast tracts of woodland and heathland, home to hundreds of wild roaming ponies, donkeys and cattle, not forgetting leisure walkers, cyclists and hardy hikers!

Haywards Heath was once known as the brightest and prettiest of Sussex residential districts and was the most populous town on the main line once it left Surrey. Thus quotes the 1911 town guide. A century on, efforts have been made to retain some of this charm despite the large growth in housing development.

The population is just over 23,000 and is set to grow even higher with the pressure on the South East to provide more homes. The town has good connections by road and rail to London, and the coast. Gatwick and the M25 are just 15 minutes away.

The town has been luckier than many during the recent recession and has a vibrant shopping centre with many independent shops as well as the usual national multiples. Regeneration schemes are being looked at with plans coming forward in the next year or two.

The town is blessed with lovely parks, one, Victoria Park, is situated right in the centre of the town and is valued by local residents as one of Haywards Heath’s best assets. From the park there are wonderful views across to the South Downs

The Town has five Conservation areas one is Muster Green, which is situated on the entrance to the town. This green with its traditional flower beds is maintained to a high standard by the Town Council and is a focal point for the Town’s Spring Festival.

The Town Council offices are just around the corner from Muster Green and although built in 1990 has the look and charm of a Georgian building. As well as the Council offices and Council Chamber it has meeting rooms which are let out to the community. It is also licensed to hold Marriages.

It is an attractive area in which to live and work and has a wide variety of attractions on the doorstep with good communications to the larger centres of Cambridge, Peterborough and, of course, London.

The district was formed in 1974 combining the former Urban Districts of Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock and Royston with Hitchin Rural District. It occupies the low chalk hills of the north-eastern Chilterns, extending north into the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire plain around Ashwell and Hinxworth, and south to the valley of the River Lea around Codicote.

The area south and west of Hitchin is dominated by small hamlets linked by a network of winding lanes with high hedgerows, while to the east of Baldock, the landscape is open, with few hedges and larger, more nucleated villages.

Each of the towns has a distinctive character: Hitchin, Baldock and Royston are medieval market towns, each retaining numerous historic buildings, while Letchworth Garden City is world famous as the first Garden City.

The Council’s priorities are town centres, green issues and sustainable development, refl ecting the fact that we are an area of growth, but one which also seeks to preserve the history and culture of our towns. We have recently restructured our senior management team and part of that has been to combine our policy / partnerships and community development teams. The Policy Team manages relations with our Strategic Partnerships and has recently developed the Partnership’s Sustainable Communities Strategy which informs the District’s long term vision.

So, if you enjoy the challenges of being “in at the start” and seeing ideas evolve into delivery, then these could be posts to suit you.

We also have two challenging posts in our Community Safety Team. We have an excellent record in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and work closely with the police and other agencies to minimise social problems. Would you like to help us keep up the good work?

So sang Dizzee Rascal at this year’s Glastonbury Festival in Somerset. We at Somerset County Council don’t think you’re crazy, Mr Rascal.

We want the best possible people to provide services for our growing and diverse community in Somerset…and we judge people by what they do and not by the perceptions of others.

We are learning how to create a workforce that is representative of our community and this presents special challenges in a rural county like Somerset.  We are aiming to give applicants from minority groups the confidence and desire to apply for jobs with the Council:

• We have improved our processes to make it easier for people to apply for jobs.
• We have significant achievements in our work with community groups. 
• We have established employee networks for minority ethnic employees, employees with a disability, carers and LGBT employees. 
• We are looking to use technology to allow employees from under represented groups to link with each other and form their own support network. 
• In the last year, we provided extra support or skills update to people who need to get back into work after illness or long-term unemployment, and appointed over 100 of them into permanent Council jobs. We are held up as a national exemplar for this achievement in the Local Employment Partnership.

 But there is still more to do if we are to be a truly fair, flexible, forward thinking and diverse organisation.  And we need the right sort of person to help us.

If you agree with us, and think people should be judged by their actions and not preconceived ideas, you may be just the person we are looking for.

Do you have the skills and ability to provide our services, and the commitment to work with us to promote Somerset as a place where people will feel free to be who they are, and live their lives in this beautiful and welcoming county?

If so, you’re not bonkers……………just take a look at our website and see what we have to offer.

(click here to go to the Wandsworth Council website)

As a council, we have a long-standing set of ways that haven’t changed in years and don’t need changing because they work so well. And these are what are known as ‘Wandsworth Ways’.

Social Work in Wandsworth

Wandsworth is proud to say that it’s standing up for social work. And a lot of being able to do this is down to the ‘Wandsworth Way’. Be it Adult or Children’s, we are committed to listening to our social workers, taking their thoughts onboard and addressing their issues to make sure that every single one is satisfied in their work. We also have several frameworks in place to keep our social workers safe in sometimes difficult situations. And if things do get tough, we stand solidly by their sides, offering support and guidance the whole way.  

Our world

The inner suburb of Wandsworth lies along the south bank of the River Thames and has a population of over 280,000. It’s been a long established borough of London, featuring as far back as the Doomsday Book in 1016. Famous for Battersea Power Station and the lowest council tax in the UK, it also boasts some of the most beautiful parks in central London, giving it a reputation of being a fairly green borough.

Our communities

Wandsworth is diverse in every meaning of the world. We have a high proportion of celebrities living here and we’re also home to Nappy Valley, an extremely affluent area of London, whose nickname speaks for itself. But alongside these wealthy areas there are pockets of extreme deprivation, with many families living well below the poverty line. And our social workers work with families from all backgrounds and walks of life, across the entire borough.

To find out more and to apply (click here to go to the Wandsworth Council website)

Bognor Regis Town Council was formed in 1985 and is one of the largest town councils in Arun District. Covering the central area of the much larger Bognor Regis conurbation, the town council has established an important role in delivering many of the environmental projects that have transformed the look of this West Sussex resort in recent years and also running some of the major events essential to maintaining the vibrancy of this popular holiday town.

The Town Council is divided into four wards, which are represented by sixteen councillors.

Operating on a committee system, there are the following committees –

• Policy & Resources
• Environment & Leisure
• Planning & Licensing
• Events
• Promotion & Publicity

The council also provides many other services such as allotments, Christmas Lights and a Weather Station!

The Town Council’s administration is managed by a loyal and dedicated team of staff, headed by the Town Clerk, who is also the Responsible Financial Officer, overseeing a budget of £715,100.

The council is totally committed to maintaining a high level of services and amenities for residents and visitors, and is keen to play its role in the ongoing regeneration of the area, which is seeing a new dawn rise over Bognor Regis.

The Parish Council area is divided into four Wards, which are represented by nineteen Councillors.

Operating on a Committee system there are the following Committees –

Finance and Administration Committee

• Personnel Committee
• Planning, Environment and Transport Committee
• Property Committee

The primary assets are the Council’s three Community venues and all purpose Multi Courts, Play Areas, Allotments and 13 acres of amenity land.

The Parish Council’s administration is managed by a dedicated team of staff, headed by the Parish Clerk.

The Parish Council administrates a Budget in the region of £500,000.

The Council is tota

lly committed to maintaining a high level of services and amenities for the residents of North Horsham, to generate a vibrant and sustainable community with access for all.