Dereham Town Council

DEREHAM TOWN COUNCIL

NOTICE OF CO-OPTION OF ONE TOWN COUNCILLOR

 

The Electoral Services Department of Breckland District Council has confirmed that the regulation 10 requests from electors have not been fulfilled and Dereham Town Council can now fill the vacancy by co-option.

 

If you are interested in serving as a Town Councillor, please write to the Town Clerk confirming that you are qualified to be a Councillor (see Appendix A of the Co-option procedure), include a brief explanation of why you are interested in joining the Town Council and what skills and experiences you will bring.  The Council meets once a month on the second Tuesday in the month.  If you would like to know more about the role, please contact the Clerk.

 

The closing date for written submissions of interest is 5th October 2026.

 

Candidates will be invited to speak at the Full Council meeting to be held on 13th October 2026 at 7.30pm at Dereham Memorial Hall, after which a vote by Councillors will take place. Full details of the process can be found in the Co-option Procedure.

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Email: generalenquiries@derehamtowncouncil.org

Post:   Tony Needham, Dereham Town Council, Assembly Rooms, Quebec Street,

            Dereham, NR19 2DJ

Tel:      01362 693821

 

This notice and Dereham Town Council’s co-option procedure is available from the Town Council offices and on the Dereham Town Council website.​

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DEREHAM TOWN COUNCIL

CO-OPTION PROCEDURE

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Introduction

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If no request for an election is received by Breckland District Council by the Notice of  Vacancy, the Electoral Services Department will advise the Town Council that it may co-opt to the vacancy.  Co-option is the process by which the Town Council selects a new Councillor and it is done as an agenda item within a regular Town Council meeting.

 

The Town Council manages the process of co-option by itself and aims to demonstrate that it is fair and transparent by following the procedure set out below:

 

Procedure

 

1. Dereham Town Council invites interested candidates to write to the Clerk by the date specified in the notice. Notices will be placed on its noticeboards, Facebook page and website.  Candidates will be asked to confirm in writing that they are qualified to be a Councillor (ref. Appendix A), to include a brief (1/2 side of A4) explanation of why they would like to be a Town Councillor and what skills and experience they will bring to the Council. Applicants are encouraged to include details of any involvement with local community groups and political parties.  Copies of the information received from candidates will be circulated by the Clerk to all Councillors prior to the meeting of the Town Council where the co-option will be considered.

2. At the Council Meeting on the 13th October, candidates will be required to attend. Each candidate, in alphabetical order, will be allocated a maximum of three minutes to say something about themselves and why they would like to become a Councillor. Voting will be via a secret ballot, votes will be counted by the Clerk and confirmed by the Mayor. The successful candidate must have an absolute majority of votes, if there are more than two candidates and no single candidate achieves an absolute majority, then the candidate with the least votes will drop out and the vote taken again until one candidate achieves an absolute majority. In the event of a tie between two candidates for one vacancy, the Chairman will exercise their casting vote.

3. The amount of votes each candidate received will remain confidential. The only announcement made would be to confirm which candidate has an absolute majority or, if no candidate has an absolute majority, which candidate has the least votes and will be excluded from the next round of voting.

4. If there is only one candidate for one vacancy they are not automatically co-opted – the Council can decide to readvertise.

5. The candidate with the absolute majority will be declared co-opted to the Town Council and, after signing the declaration of acceptance of office, will be asked to join the meeting.

6. The successful candidate is a Councillor for the Dereham Neatherd Ward, they are a Councillor in their own right, co-option is equal to any other form of election.

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APPENDIX A

QUALIFICATIONS TO BE A COUNCILLOR

 

A person is qualified to be elected and to be a Councillor if they are British, Commonwealth, Irish or European Union citizen and on the relevant day (that is, the day of nomination or election) they are 18 or over.

 

In addition, the person must meet at least one of the following criteria:

 

1. on the relevant day and thereafter they continue to be on the electoral register for the parish, or

2. during the whole of the twelve months before that day they have owned or tenanted land or premises in the parish, or

3. during the whole of the twelve months before that day their principal or only place of work has been in the parish, or

4. during the whole of the twelve months before that day they resided in the parish or within three miles of it

 

Except for qualification 1, these qualifications then continue for the full term of office, until the next ordinary elections.

 

Certain people are disqualified from standing, and these include paid officers (including the Clerk) of the council, bankrupts and those subject to recent sentences of imprisonment.

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Download - Notice of Co-option, Co-option procedure & Appendix A