Six vacancies on Honiton Town Council will remain unfilled for another month after co-options were postponed.
Local residents turned up at the last full council meeting on Monday, June 10, but were told an error meant the co-option process couldn’t go ahead.
It is customary for candidates to submit written information about themselves and their reasons for wanting to serve on the council in advance. This is to help councillors reach an informed decision and to ensure applicants are eligible to sit on the council.
On this occasion, protocol was not followed – meaning the hopefuls could not be considered.
Some of those who intended to put themselves forward later took to social media to complain.
A casual vacancy also exists on the council after Mike Jones quit almost immediately after being re-elected to serve the St Michael’s Ward. This vacancy is being dealt with as “a separate matter”.
The council hopes the extra time will encourage even more people to put themselves forward.
In a statement on its website, the council says: “Those who have applied to be co-opted will be considered at the Full Council Meeting on the 8 July 2019.
“Should the casual vacancy not go to an election, then there will be a further co-option vacancy on the council and this will be dealt with as a separate matter.”
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