SHIPLEY Town Council says it is looking to co-opt two further councillors and is committed to increasing the diversity of its membership.

Applications will open this month, with a target date for co-options being the council meeting on September 24.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 local government elections, scheduled to be held on May 7, were postponed by the Government for 12 months. This prevented the vacancies for the 11 town councillors being filled by election.

Bradford Council, as the principal local authority for Shipley, therefore appointed nine individuals who had all attended training or expressed their intention to stand for election, to serve as temporary town councillors until the next elections in May 2021.

The appointed town councillors are unpaid.

Councillor Mike Connors (pictured), council chair, said: “It is an honour to be appointed Chair of the new Town Council for Shipley. The new team of councillors has been working hard behind the scenes to set up the new council in the heart of Shipley."

"As a starting point, over the coming year we want to hear from the residents of the town, working together with everyone to deliver the kind of benefits that the people of Shipley want to see.

"Shipley is a great place to live. The new team of councillors want to make our contribution to making Shipley even better”.

The first major policy decision taken by the Town Council was to pass a motion acknowledging that the Town Council has an important part to play in supporting a zero-carbon future.

At the Full Council meeting held on June 25, it was agreed that Shipley Town Council will help and encourage people and businesses in Shipley to reduce their carbon emissions.

The newly formed Climate Emergency and Environment Committee will lead on proposing actions the Town Council should take and will also ask Bradford Council to deliver an action plan by the end of the year, detailing how Bradford District as a whole will deliver net zero carbon emissions.

The newly-appointed Town Clerk and the nine new town councillors held their first formal meeting of Shipley Town Council took place on May 28, when a Chair and Vice Chair of the Council for 2020/21 were elected by the councillors. This meeting also set up the Town Council’s essential governance structures, committees and policies, including arrangements for banking the Town Council's funds.

The Town Council has four electoral wards - Nab Wood and Moorhead (three councillors), Northcliffe and Norwoods (three councillors), Saltaire and Hirstwood (three councillors), and Shipley Central and Dockfield (two councillors).

Bradford Council was required to set a local precept in February 2020, which is the Town Council's share of the Council Tax. The precept, which equates to £30.01 for the average household for the year, was calculated on the estimates for the Town Council's first year and based on the budgets of neighbouring councils. The total budget available to the new council is just under £134,000 in Council Tax and approximately £4,500 of income from grants and rents.

As well as the Town Council’s running costs, the budget includes money to spend on local services and facilities. Therefore, the town councillors are keen to consult with Shipley residents to find out what matters to them and how the Town Council's funds should be prioritised. To do this, a series of engagement opportunities are being planned for the coming weeks and months.