How can a casual vacancy arise?
A casual vacancy on a Town or Parish Council may arise for a number of reasons; for example a Councillor has resigned, passed away, or they have failed to attend any meetings for 6 months.
All resignations must be made in writing to the Chairperson of the Parish/Town Council. Once received that resignation cannot be withdrawn and it takes effect on the date of receipt.
What happens next?
When a vacancy occurs, the Parish/Town Clerk must notify Electoral Services at North Kesteven District Council as soon as possible with the details of which Councillor has caused the vacancy to arise.
The vacancy must then be advertised in the Town or Parish, usually on parish noticeboards and any parish website, for a period of 14 working days excluding dies-non (e.g. bank holidays and weekends).
Any notices which are within their 14 day period will also be available to view in the downloads section of this page.
Calling an election
During the 14 days after the notice is published, a request to hold an election to fill the vacancy can be submitted by 10 electors from the parish (or Parish/Town ward if applicable).
The request must be made in writing to Electoral Services at North Kesteven District Council. This can be a form containing all ten names, addresses and signatures or alternatively requests can be received from individual electors.
Requests can be emailed to elections@n-kesteven.gov.uk. For an election to be called, the request must be received by the last date given on the notice of vacancy.
After the 14 day period has passed
If the 14 days have passed and an election has not been requested by ten electors, Electoral Services will advise the Town or Parish Council that they can co-opt a suitable person onto the council to fill the vacancy, in accordance with their normal procedures for doing so. At this point the notice of vacancy will be removed from our website.
If a valid request for an election is received within the 14 day period an election will take place.
Vacancies arising within 6 months of scheduled elections
If the vacancy occurs within 6 months of the date of the next scheduled elections for that council then no election is held unless the total number of unfilled vacancies exceeds one third of the total membership of the Parish Council. The seat may remain vacant until it is filled at the next elections, or the council may choose to co-opt beforehand.