How many wards and councillors are there?
The Borough of Eastbourne is divided into 9 areas known as wards, each of which is represented by three councillors, giving a total of 27 councillors in all.
When are elections held?
County Council elections - May 2009
European Parliamentary elections - June 2009
UK Parliamentary elections - sometime between now and 2010
Local Borough elections - May 2011
What's involved in being a Councillor?
Councillors are ordinary people with extraordinary commitment. It's a varied role. The Council has responsibility for a wide spectrum of issues including:
housing
environment and planning
economic development
art and culture.
You could be the voice of the people in your area, championing their ideas in the development of policies and effecting change.
The three main areas of responsibility are:
How do I become a Councillor?
You don't need to be a politician to stand for election although in practice most councillors are identified with a political group.
People stand for many reasons.
You need to be at least 18 and a British, Commonwealth or European Community citizen. You also need to be a local elector or have lived, worked or owned a property in the Borough for at least one year.
You will need to register to stand for election, which involves completing a set of nomination papers and involves finding a proposer, seconder and the backing of eight other people from the ward you wish to stand in. Nomination papers are usually available about a month before the election which are normally held in the first week of May.
For further information on standing for election visit the Electoral Commission's website.
