A vacancy has arisen on Great Tey Parish Council for a councillor. If you are interested please read the application process below. Applications should be submitted via the attached form.
Notice of vacancy to be filled by co-option
The Electoral Services department of Colchester City Council has confirmed that the regulation 10 requests from electors have not been fulfilled and the parish council may now fill the casual vacancy by co-option.
If you are interested in serving as a parish councillor, please apply to the clerk confirming that you are qualified to be a councillor – see below. The council meets once a month on the second Tuesday in the month and the role is voluntary. If you would like to know more about the role and to obtain an application form then please contact the clerk either by email at Greatteyparishcouncil@outlook.com or phone 0771 3791871.
Closing date for applications will be Friday 16th May 2025
Candidates will be invited to speak with members of the Council from the week commencing 26th May 2025 and the full council will vote at the June Parish council meeting.
Full details of the co-option process and qualifying criteria can be found below.
This notice is also available on the parish council noticeboard and the Parish council website.
CO-OPTION PROCEDURE
Introduction
If no request for an election is received by Great Tey Parish Council by the date of the Notice of Vacancy, the Electoral Services department will advise the parish council that it may co-opt to the vacancy. Co-option is the process by which the parish council selects a new councillor and it is done as an agenda item within an Ordinary Parish Council meeting.
The parish 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. Great Tey Parish council invites interested candidates to apply to the Clerk by a specified date via notices placed on its main noticeboard and website. The application form will ask candidates to confirm they are qualified to be a Councillor and a brief explanation of why they would like to be a parish councillor.
2. All applicant candidates will be invited to meet with representatives of the council.
3. Following this meeting the committee will make a recommendation to full council of candidate(s) for co-option.
4. Candidates(s) recommended for co-option, will be invited to the next meeting of full council for the purpose of being elected as a member of the parish council.
6. At the meeting of full council, the successful candidate(s) will be declared co-opted to the parish council and, after signing the declaration of acceptance of office, will be asked to join the meeting.
7. The successful candidate is a councillor and is no different to any other member; co-option is a legitimate form of election as part of the election process.
Qualifications to be a Councillor
A person is qualified to be elected and to be a Councillor if they are a 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 have 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.
In other news the Annual Parish meeting will be held on Tuesday 13th May at 7.00pm in the Village Hall. This is your opportunity to come and find out more about what the Parish council are doing and to have your say about matters in the Village that are important to you and what you would like to see going forward. This will be followed by the Annual General Meeting and the Ordinary Parish council meeting which all members of the public are invited to attend.
