RESIDENTS in the Berryfield area of Melksham are being urged to step forward and fill a parish council vacancy.

Following the recent resignation of Cllr Stuart Wood, Melksham Without Parish Council has a vacancy for a councillor to be co-opted after ten electors failed to come forward to call an election for the vacancy.

If you have a keen interest in your local community and want to get involved then please write to Mrs Teresa Strange, Clerk of the Council with a few details about yourself and why you are interested in becoming a parish councillor.

The successful candidate will be a member of the parish council as a whole and can live in the parish or within three miles of the parish boundary.

Melksham Without covers the rural communities surrounding the town, including Bowerhill, Berryfield, Outmarsh, Shaw, Whitley, Beanacre, Redstocks, The Spa and Sandridge with a population of about 8,000.

The deadline for receipt of letters of interest is Sunday, October 11. Applications will be considered by parish councillors when they meet online on Monday, October 19 at 7pm.

Applicants are invited to that meeting to say a few words, and if successfully co-opted will be invited to sign their declaration of office and join the council meeting.

Email Mrs Teresa Strange, Clerk, Melksham Without Parish Council, at clerk@melkshamwithout.co.uk, or call 01225 705700 for advice.

Please send letters to Mrs Teresa Strange, Clerk, Melksham Without Parish Council, Sports Pavilion, Westinghouse Way, Bowerhill, Melksham, SN12 6TL.