Meet your Councillors

Simon Bingham

Chairman

Simon has lived in the village since 2002, and joined the Parish Council around 2005. Simon has been a Director of his family business based in Banbury since 1975 and likes to get involved with running events and organisations and helping out whenever possible in order to make many things happen for the benefit of the villagers and friends. Simon is always happy to try and help people to resolve village issues. You can contact Simon via cllr.bingham@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

Adrian Smith

Vice Chairman

You can contact Adrian via
cllr.smith@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

Lilian Stageman

Councillor

Lilian has been a Councillor since 1999. She was born in the village as were generations of her family before her. You can contact Lilian via

cllr.stageman@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

Jo Robinson

Councillor

Jo is a Councillor for Halse.

You can contact Jo via cllr.robinson@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

Wayne Lindop

Councillor

Wayne joined the Greatworth and Halse Parish Council in 2024.

You can contact Wayne via cllr.lindop@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

Hazel Hewison

Councillor

Hazel Hewison moved to Halse from Thorpe Mandeville in 2012. Hazel plays the organ for Sunday services in several local churches, including Halse. You can contact Hazel via

cllr.hewison@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

John Waite

Councillor

John joined the Council in 2024.

You can contact John via cllr.waite@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk.

Linda Weller

Councillor

You can contact Linda via cllr.weller@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

Emma Jackson

Councillor

You can contact Emma via cllr.jackson@greatworthparishcouncil.gov.uk

Rebecca Foote

Clerk

Rebecca is the Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer for the council. Rebecca started working for the council in November 2021 and is employed to work 10 hours a week. You can contact the Clerk via clerk@greatworthparishcouncil.co.uk or telephone: 01295 698336.

Becoming a Councillor

Councillors are elected by residents’ votes during local elections and must stand for re-election every four years. If a Councillor vacancy occurs between local elections then Councillors may be co-opted i.e. nominated and voted for by existing members of the Council. However, even co-opted Councillors have to stand for election at the next local election – this democratic approach ensures that residents have the ultimate say in who represents them.

Anyone can nominate someone or put themselves forward for a Councillor vacancy so long as the candidate meets certain criteria (see below). During an election, candidates must submit a nomination paper (signed by two other electors, a nominator and a proposer) along with a document confirming that they consent to be nominated.

All candidates must:

be a UK or Commonwealth citizen, or;
be a citizen of any member state of the European Union;
be a least 18 years old.

To be eligible to stand for an election for Helmdon you must:

be an elector of the parish, or;
for the whole of the previous 12 months have occupied (as owner or tenant) land or other premises in the parish, or;
during the previous 12 months have worked in the parish (as your principal or only place of work), or;
for the whole of the previous 12 months lived in the parish or within three miles of the parish boundary.

By becoming a Councillor you become someone your community can look to for help, guidance and support – a community leader with the power to influence decisions for the benefit of the people you serve. Seeing your community change for the better as a result of decisions you have helped make can be very rewarding.