THE WHEELS of democracy will continue to turn in Grange-over-Sands after a temporary town council was appointed to oversee official business until an election can take place.

The highly-unusual move has been necessary so that the town council can continue to operate when it no longer has officially-elected representatives.

It has been necessary following the postponement of the election due to take place on May 1, after the unexpected death of Coun Peter Jackson in Italy on Easter Monday.

On May 1, Coun Jackson, along with long-standing Grange town councillors, Aiden Smith, Bill Wearing and Robert Leach, had been due to stand for re-election alongside candidates due to fill the seats vacated by Couns Frank Brooks, Joan Chapman, Pamela Monkhouse, Mary Anne Best and Michael Fieldhouse, who all stood down in April.

Because the election was postponed out of respect, the whole process, which usually takes around six weeks, had to begin again.

THE WHEELS of democracy will continue to turn in Grange-over-Sands after a temporary town council was appointed to oversee official business until an election can take place.

The highly-unusual move has been necessary so that the town council can continue to operate when it no longer has officially-elected representatives.

It has been necessary following the postponement of the election due to take place on May 1, after the unexpected death of Coun Peter Jackson in Italy on Easter Monday.

On May 1, Coun Jackson, along with long-standing Grange town councillors, Aiden Smith, Bill Wearing and Robert Leach, had been due to stand for re-election alongside candidates due to fill the seats vacated by Couns Frank Brooks, Joan Chapman, Pamela Monkhouse, Mary Anne Best and Michael Fieldhouse, who all stood down in April.

Because the election was postponed out of respect, the whole process, which usually takes around six weeks, had to begin again.

The councillors who had stood down and those standing for re-election will now remain in place, until after the new election takes place on June 19 and the new members are sworn in.

To formalise the temporary council, South Lakeland District Council agreed to the request for the Appointment of Temporary Councillors Order, which is issued under Section 91 of the Local Government Act, 1972.

The temporary council was approved by South Lakeland District Council and put in place at an extraordinary meeting of Grange Town Council last Friday.

Town clerk Martin Grindell explained that without the order: "We can't pay bills, you couldn't put any comments on planning applications and we couldn't contribute to the democratic process, such as people writing to us for an opinion.

"I cannot do that because I do not represent the views of the electorate."

Mr Grindell said it was "commendable" that those councillors who had stood down in April had agreed to carry on for another two months.

"It's all down to this thing called community service," said Mr Grindell.

SLDC'S returning officer Jim Morrison, who has 34 years of experience of elections in East Anglia, South Lakeland, Africa and the Balkans, said the appointment of a temporary council was extremely rare.

"Nationally I have no idea about this but I have never experienced it personally, not in any of the elections I have been involved in 34 years," said Mr Morrison.

The orders reads that the Temporary Council is in place "until sufficient other persons shall be elected to the office of councillor," and that the order would "automatically terminate and the offices created of Temporary Councillors for the Town Council shall cease," from the date as such other councillors are elected.

Frank Brooks, who stood down in April, said he did not consider it a problem staying on as a councillor for the intervening period.

May 23, 2003 09:30