08/06/2026
This week is Local Council Clerks Week.
To celebrate, we thought we’d reshare our recent Q&A article featuring Stotfold Town Clerk Emma Payne. Emma has been our Town Clerk for almost three years..
𝑬𝒎𝒎𝒂, 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔? My role as Town Clerk is really about making sure the Town Council runs smoothly day to day and that we’re delivering the services and facilities that matter to residents within the constraints that we operate in. That can include anything from supporting councillors with decision-making and managing the budget, to overseeing the maintenance of our parks, play areas, allotments and community buildings. I also work closely with our staff team to help deliver events and projects across the town and I am incredibly proud how they manage to deliver day to day, sometimes in difficult situations. A big part of the job happens behind the scenes – making sure we’re following legislation, managing risk, and keeping our buildings and spaces safe and compliant. At the same time, it’s about looking ahead and planning for the future so that as Stotfold grows, the Town Council is ready to support the needs of the community. No two days are ever the same, which is one of the things I enjoy most about the role!
𝑬𝒎𝒎𝒂, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚, 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆? The biggest challenge is probably the sheer variety that comes with the role. As you've said, no one day is the same so I can go from looking at budgets and policies to discussing playground repairs or helping to organise a community event – and sometimes all before lunchtime! There’s also a balancing act between what the community quite rightly wants to see happen and what we, as a Town Council, are legally required to do behind the scenes. I have lost count of the number of times we've been told we're responsible for pot holes. A lot of our time is spent making sure our buildings, spaces and services are safe and compliant, which isn’t always the most visible work but is absolutely essential. I think the way you manage that is by building really good relationships and being open and transparent about why certain things need to happen. It’s about working together and helping people understand that we’re all ultimately trying to achieve the same thing: a safe, welcoming town that people are proud to live in.
𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆? It’s hard to pick just a few! One of the biggest highlights has been the delivery of events like Stotfest and the Christmas Lights Switch-On. It's great being at one of these events and seeing everyone have a good time after a lot of blood, sweat and tears. I was particularly proud to deliver the new Christmas lights display. Whilst residents may not always see it on a day-to-day basis, we’ve also expanded our staff team to ensure that we are able to serve the community efficiently. We’ve improved compliance across our buildings and put clearer systems in place to manage risk. It might not sound very exciting, but it makes a huge difference in terms of protecting the Council and the community. I’ve also really enjoyed seeing our staff develop and delivering for residents. It's been lovely to see their confidence grow.
𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚? Growth brings lots of opportunities, but it also means we need to think ahead. It’s really important that as the town expands, the infrastructure that supports the community grows with it, whether that’s green spaces, play areas or community facilities. That means working with Central Bedfordshire Council, our ward councillors and residents to make sure everyone’s views are considered. It’s also about planning for the future, working closely with partners and developers, and making sure that new developments contribute positively to the town. We also want to ensure that as Stotfold grows, it doesn’t lose the strong sense of community that makes it special. That means continuing to listen to residents, supporting local groups and helping people feel connected to where they live.
𝑬𝒎𝒎𝒂, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏?
Firstly, the sense of community. There’s a real willingness from people to get involved, whether that’s through local events or by sharing their views on how things can be improved, whether via social media or our annual residents’ survey.
Secondly, the green spaces. Places like our cemetery, parks and open areas are so important for people’s wellbeing and it’s great to see them being used and enjoyed. I'm keeping fingers crossed that we're successful in our green flag application for the cemetery. And finally, the fact that Stotfold manages to feel like a close-knit town while still moving forward. There’s a nice balance between respecting its history and being open to change and new opportunities.
