Parish council vacancies
Parish councillors are elected once every four years, the next election for all councillors will be May 2011. Councillors may leave the parish council for various reasons during the four year term and their seat is filled by the casual vacancy procedure.
The casual vacancy procedure is:
- a Notice of Vacancy is published by the parish, it must be published for 14 working days
- the notice asks if any electors in the parish wish to fill the vacancy by election
- if electors would like an election to be held, a request by 10 electors of the parish must be sent to the Returning Officer
- if at the end of the 14 days, no request has been received, the parish council can co-opt a new member to the council
The parish clerks will notify electoral services as vacancies occur and a notice is provided for the parish clerk to publish.
If, after 14 days, no request to hold an election is received, electoral services will advise the parish clerk that the vacancy can be filled by co-option.
Each Town/Parish council has its own method of co-opting members and anyone wishing to stand as a councillor at this stage should contact the Parish Clerk.
If an election is held, the date is decided by the Returning Officer. The election process then takes place.
CONTACTS
Elections
Cotswold District Council, Trinity Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1PX
Telephone: 01285 623 002
Fax: 01285 623 907