THERE are two councillor vacancies in Melksham Without Parish Council (MWPC) following the recent resignations of councillors Robert Hoyle and Stefano Patacchiola JP, due to increasing work and family commitments.
An election has been called for the first vacancy which is in the Bowerhill Ward; anyone wishing to put their name forward as a candidate must do so by 4pm on Tuesday 19th December.
If the election is contested then it will be held on Thursday 18th January.
The second vacancy is in the Beanacre, Shaw, Whitley & Blackmore Ward and this is still in the time period to see if there will be a request for an election by 10 electors from this ward; the deadline for this is Tuesday 2nd January.
All queries, questions and information about the election process is via the Wiltshire Council electoral services team (not the parish council); they can be contacted on: 0300 456 0112 or by email: elections@wiltshire.gov.uk
Details of the current vacancies are on Wiltshire Council’s website https://elections.wiltshire. gov.uk/ as well as on the parish council’s noticeboards, website, and social media.
If you wish to register to vote you can do that via the Government website https://www.gov.uk/ register-to-vote
You can apply to vote by post online at www. gov.uk/apply-postal-vote; please do this promptly if you have not done so in the past, as the deadline for new postal vote applications for the Bowerhill Ward is Wednesday 3rd January.
There are also new rules about having to bring Photo ID when you vote, and you can see what the accepted forms are on the Electoral Commission website https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id
Polling cards will NOT be issued for elections in the parish of Melksham Without; instead, please look out for the local publicity as a reminder, including a full-page advert in the Melksham News in the New Year.
