By-election called after elected Northampton Town councillor did not sign declaration of acceptance in time

A councillor who was elected to Northampton Town Council in May's local elections did not sign a declaration of acceptance in the required time creating a by-election.

Lorraine Chirisa was elected as town councillor for the Talavera ward in Northampton following the poll on May 6.

A by-election is now scheduled to take place on September 2 to fill the vacant seat in the ward.

A statement from Stuart Carter, interim town clerk, for the town council, read: “Unfortunately Ms Chirisa did not sign her declaration of acceptance in the required time and this created a vacancy.”

Ms Chirisa stood for the Labour Party at the election polling 751 votes. Liberal Democrat candidate, Dennis Meredith, was also elected to the council with 842 votes.

In total, 17 Labour, seven Conservative and one Liberal Democrat were elected to the new council. There were 25 councillors representing 21 wards.

The council was set up as part of the local government review for Northamptonshire with Northampton Borough Council being abolished on March 31 this year after 47 years in operation.

The town council, the largest of its kind in the country, is responsible for a range of services such as allotments, cemeteries and the mayoralty.