THE people of Lochgelly will get the chance this spring to relaunch the town's community council.

Fife's Returning Officer, Steve Grimmond, intends to hold a fresh round of elections on Thursday March 21 for those areas that don’t currently have a Community Council, should residents submit a petition to re-establish one.

This will include the St Andrews Community Council election, which was deferred from the October, along with elections in Cairneyhill, Lochgelly and Strathkinness, as petitions have already been received from these areas.

Anyone who would like to stand as a candidate should be registered to vote by Thursday January 10. Everyone else who wants to vote in one of the Community Council elections should make sure they’re registered to vote by Thursday February 7. You can register to vote at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

And Linda Bissett, Head of Democratic Services is keen to encourage more people to make a real difference in their local areas.

Linda commented: “Community Councils are an important part of giving our communities a voice. They can provide Councillors and statutory bodies with the grassroots viewpoint and opinions that are essential to shaping services and making decisions about issues that matter to local people".