Electorate set to vote in by-election for new Staveley Town Councillor for Duckmanton

The town council – within the Chesterfield borough – has heralded a new era after it has begun to put its house in order after an independent Improvement Board had criticised its financial management between 2011 and 2022 in a report which stated its difficulties had been caused by events not just faced by one particular political group’s administration.

At the time of the report in November, 2023, the town council’s political make-up was six Labour councillors, five Liberal Democrats, five Community Independents and one Independent, however, Labour Staveley Town Cllr Debbie Wheeldon has since resigned her seat and a by-election poll for the vacant Duckamnton Ward is to be held on Thursday, February 15.

The four candidates, who were formally announced on January 20, include Staveley Matters’ Mick Bagshaw, of Hollingwood, Chesterfield, Liberal Democrat Stephen James Hartley, of Chesterfield, Community Independent Martin Christopher Hibbert, of Barrow Hill, and Labour’s Channi Khera, of Hollingwood, Chesterfield.

Returning Officer Huw Bowen, who is also the Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council, stated: “Due to the resignation of of Debbie Wheeldon, a vacancy has arisen in the office of councillor for the parish council.”

Staveley Town Council avoided bankruptcy after Chesterfield Borough Council agreed to loan the authority £400,000 in February, 2023, and despite the Improvement Board’s report it acknowledged the council’s potential and that the councillors want to make the authority effective and it praised the current town clerk while urging a better partnership between councillors.

The Improvement Board also confirmed Staveley Town Council had ‘balanced’ its budget by November, 2023, and that the council has been showing an understanding of its commitments and that a new financial system was underway and expenditure was being reduced.

Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins requested, in June, 2023, for Chesterfield Borough Council to set up a Community Governance Review to consider the future of Staveley Town Council which borough council officers have been reviewing since before the borough council makes any decision on what it considers to be the best way to proceed.

A Staveley Town Council spokesperson has stated that the town council has delivered on important activities and it has made significant progress in its recovery.

Eligible voters will be able to cast their vote for their preferred candidate for the vacant Duckmanton Ward seat, of Staveley Town Council, at a polling station at Duckmanton Methodist Church, on Duckmanton Road, in Duckmanton, between 7am and 10pm, on Thursday, February 15.

The deadlines for applications to register to vote, and for applications, amendments or cancellations of postal votes and amendments or cancellations of proxy votes, and for applications for a Voter Authority Certificate or an Anonymous Elector’s Document, and for new applications to vote by proxy, have all expired.

However, applications to vote by emergency proxy at this election are still within deadline if they reach the Electoral Registration Officer at Chesterfield Town Hall, on Rose Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1LP, by 5pm on Thursday, February 15.