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25

Jun 2021

Politics
Politics

Date set for Knaresborough Scriven Park by-election

Published: 25 Jun 2021, 11:37 BST

by Natalie Bowen

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Following the resignation of Conservative Harrogate district councillor Samantha Mearns at the weekend, a date has been set next month for a by-election.

samantha-mearns
Cllr Samantha Mearns.

The date for a by-election has been set following the resignation of Harrogate district councillor Samantha Mearns.

Cllr Mearns announced at the weekend that she was stepping away from her Knaresborough Scriven Park ward due to family reasons after holding the seat as a member of the Conservative party since 2018.

A by-election has now been officially called by Harrogate Borough Council which, if contested, will be held on July 29.

The by-election is being run by the council and nomination papers are available during normal office hours from the Returning Officer at the Harrogate Civic Centre on St Lukes Avenue.

Completed nomination papers must be delivered by hand to the same address between 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, before July 2.

Announcing her resignation in a letter to residents, Cllr Mearns said she was moving to Wales to be closer to her family after her younger brother died and her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

She said it had been a “great honour” to serve the area where she had lived for more than 18 years.



Read more:



  • Harrogate councillor resigns for 'family reasons'

  • Harrogate council staff review highlights bullying and harassment claims





Cllr Mearns said:

“In many people’s lives things happen that change the direction of their lives. This is the same with me. Not too long before the pandemic struck, my younger brother – my only sibling – died after a relatively short but terrible illness.
“Shortly after, and during the pandemic, my mother was diagnosed with cancer.
“Having lost my brother and faced with potentially losing my mother in a short time made me look at what I needed to do with my life to do the right thing by my family.”





The by-election will be the second held in Harrogate this year after Conservative councillor Matt Scott last month won the Bilton and Nidd Gorge seat on North Yorkshire County Council following the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Geoff Webber.