Sutton Bonington
Mike Elliott 0115 937 6506 mike@elliottnews.co.uk
COUNCIL VACANCY. Sutton Bonington parish council chairman Coun. Julie McMullen-Kerr of 65 Main Street is leaving the authority and a casual vacancy has been declared.
If the necessary legal request action is received by Rushcliffe Borough Council and a call is made for an election to be held voting would take place later this year.
In the last parish election held in 2021 Coun. McMullen Karr received 266 votes, while the top candidate Patrick Hood polled 365. There were 14 candidates on the voting paper for the 11 seats.
The chairman’s resignation as a member of the parish council has created a vacancy which can now be filled either by a by-election being called or by co-option.
A spokesman for Rushcliffe Borough Council told the Echo that the resignation brings into play Rule 5(2) of The Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) (England and Wales) Rules, which allows ten electors of the Sutton Bonington parish to submit a request the Borough Proper Officer to hold an election to fill the vacancy. Such a request for an election has to be made within a period of fourteen days calculated in accordance with the rules, with the fourteenday period ending on Tuesday April 23, 2024.
If an election is called, has to be held not later than June 27.
If the Borough council do not receive a request for an election to be held during the permitted time the Parish Council must, as soon as practicable after the expiry of the fourteen-day period, co-opt a person to fill the vacancy.
The Borough spokesman says if anyone in the parish needs further information or advice on the situation, they can be contacted at the office of the Electoral Services of the Borough at Rushcliffe Arena, Rugby Road, West Bridgford where the telephone number is 0115 981 9911.
VISIT BY MP. Rushcliffe Conservative MP Ruth Edwards has spent time visiting residents in Sutton Bonington who have been troubled by flooding in recent weeks, giving them advice and looking to see where she may be able to help them. A number of properties in the parish have been affected.
In her message to local constituents, Ruth says of course March is also Budget month. “After weeks of feverish speculation -- which I always advise everyone to ignore -- we finally get to hear the Chancellor’s plans for the economy. This was a budget which showed how far we have come in the last year. The independent forecasts confirmed that inflation has fallen back towards the targets set by the Bank of England and the economy is recovering better than expected from the pandemic and Putin’s war in Ukraine.
“This is a huge relief. Inflation makes everyone poorer, so the Prime Minister and Chancellor were right to make tackling it their first priority. With that progressing well, this budget was an opportunity for the Chancellor to start cutting the tax burden for families across the country.”
The Rushcliffe MP says she was pleased to see the announcement of significant cuts to National Insurance contributions, which started yesterday. These build on the reductions announced in the Autumn Statement. It is good to see taxes being brought down and I hope future measures will allow people to keep far more of their hard earned money every month.
“More than half a million families are set to benefit through our changes to the High-Income Child Benefit Charge. We are raising the threshold for the High-Income Child Benefit Charge from £50,000 to £60,000, taking 170,000 families out of paying this tax charge. The rate will also be halved so that Child Benefit is not repaid in full until you earn £80,000.
“We have also protected pensioners with an 8.5% increase in state pension payments from next month, meaning pensioners will receive up to £900 more a year. It is important we give people dignity in retirement. The Government has increased the state pension by £3,700 since 2010, helping to lift 250,000 pensioners out of poverty. I’m delighted that, this month, the Chancellor has committed to keeping the triple lock in the Conservative Party’s manifesto for the next General Election.
This was a budget which balanced tax cuts with investment, such as the £200 million extension of the Growth Guarantee Fund, helping 11,000 small businesses to access the finance they need and an increase in the VAT registration threshold from £85,000 to £90,000, which will take around 28,000 small businesses out of paying VAT altogether.”
Ruth says that in Rushcliffe they had a surprise guest join us at the City ground for the launch of Nottingham Forest’s ‘Vision for Sport’ in Nottinghamshire. “The Prime Minister dropped in to hear about Forest’s plans to encourage more grass roots sports across the county and to try his hand at refereeing.”
And she added: “We also had the good news that kerbside glass collection is coming to Rushcliffe. As part of the Government’s Simpler Recycling Scheme, councils across the country will be required to collect a standard set of materials from kerbsides outside homes. This includes glass. This will mean that by 2026, kerbside glass collection will be rolled out across the country, giving councils enough time to invest in new technology and infrastructure to make this happen.
“Rushcliffe Borough Council has a fantastic record on recycling and has one of the highest recycling rates in our region. They have already planned to implement their Simpler Recycling scheme in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council and other councils in Nottinghamshire.
Getting glass added to your recycling collection was one of the key commitments I made when I became your MP and I am delighted it will now be delivered.”
PARISH MEETING. All residents of Sutton Bonington Parish are invited to the Annual Parish Meeting which will take place on Monday next week, April 15 at 7pm at Sutton Bonington Village Hall
This meeting will be informal, information about the work of the parish council and local Sutton Bonington groups will be available
The agenda will be as follows:
1 - Chair’s welcome
2 - Minutes of the parish meeting on the 23rd March 2023
3 - Parish Council annual report
4 - Parish Council draft financial statement 2023/2024 5 - Reports from: County/Borough Councillors, Police and Village organisations
6. General questions, items raised or suggestions made by members of the public