There will be no town council election in Ledbury after only 10 people put their names forward to be councillors.
Local elections are taking place around the country on Thursday, May 4.
These will include Ledbury voters deciding who will represent the town on Herefordshire Council.
But there simply aren’t enough people willing to sit on Ledbury Town Council to warrant having an election.
There are 18 seats on Ledbury Town Council but only 10 people have put their names forward.
Eight are existing town councillors, including Phillip Howells, the current mayor, who will be representing Ledbury West.
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Tony Bradford, Stephen Chowns, Liz Harvey and Ewen Sinclair are all returning for Ledbury North, while Matthew Eakin, Malcolm Hughes and Nick Morris are back for Ledbury South.
There will be two new names - Neil Briggs in Ledbury West and Helen I’Anson, a current county councillor, in Ledbury South.
A spokesperson for the town council said: “It is disappointing that only 10 names were put forward, however Ledbury Town Council will endeavour to co-opt more councillors in the coming months in the hope that they can fill all 18 seats on the council.
“We are aware there are at least two councillors who unfortunately did not get their papers in on time, who have expressed an interest in being co-opted onto the council following the annual meeting in May.
“Once approved by Herefordshire Council, LTC will instigate the co-option process.”
Longstanding councillor Tony Bradford said he was disappointed no election will take place.
“I’m all about standing for election, I’ve fought elections,” he said. “You have to put yourself out there and make an effort. But people don’t want to do it - not least because when you do, you get abuse.
“My last election was in December, it was freezing cold and we’d not long had an election so people didn’t want to come out and vote. And I loved it, going out and knocking doors.”
Ledbury voters will still go to the polls on May 4 to elect councillors for Herefordshire Council and to vote in a referendum on whether the county council should adopt the Neighbourhood Plan for Ledbury.
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