If a councillor leaves their seat during the course of their term, a casual vacancy occurs.

This could be due to:

• Resignation of a councillor
• Death of a councillor
• Disqualification (or ceasing to be qualified) of a councillor
• Failure to take up office.

Casual vacancy rules - District and County Council

When a councillor's seat becomes vacant, the Electoral Services team will display a 'Notice of Vacancy' to advertise the fact that there is a vacancy.  This will be displayed as soon as is practicable to do so.

The notice explains that an election can be called by a request made in writing to the Council's Proper Officer by 2 electors from the Local Authority area.  If an election is called, it must be held within 35 working days of the request being received.

The exception to this is if a vacancy occurs within 6 months of the date of the next scheduled elections, the vacancy is carried over to the next elections.  The seat remains vacant during that time and no by-election will be held.

Casual vacancy rules - Parish and Town Councils

When a councillor's seat becomes vacant, the Parish or Town Council will display a 'Notice of Vacancy' to advertise the fact that there is a vacancy.  This will be displayed as soon as is practicable at the Parish or Town Council offices and on their website, if applicable.  Details will also be published further down this page.

The Notice explains that an election can be called by a request made in writing to the Council's Proper Officer by 10 electors from the relevant electoral area within the Parish or Town Council within 14 working days of the Notice being published (if the Parish or Town Council is warded, then the 10 electors must be registered electors within that particular ward).  If 10 valid requests are received then the Returning Officer will determine when an election is to be held, which must be within 60 working days of the date of the Notice of Vacancy.

If 10 requests are not received, then the Returning Officer will advise the Parish or Town Council that they can advertise to fill the vacancy by co-option.

An exception to the above is if a vacancy occurs within 6 months of the date of the next scheduled elections, then the vacancy is advertised and carried over to the next elections, i.e., no by-election is held.  The seat may be filled by co-option under such circumstances.

Please see below for current casual vacancies: