Resignation has sparked council seat by-election

CHAIRMAN OF PLANNING COMMITTEE HAS STEPPED DOWN

- By EDDIE BISKNELL Local democracy reporter

A LABOUR-run Derbyshire council’s chair of planning has resigned, prompting a by-election.

Labour's Cllr Gareth Jones, elected in May 2023 for the Seales ward on South Derbyshire District Council, has formally resigned from the authority.

A by-election will now be held on Thursday, November 6.

Cllr Jones, who works in the construction sector and had been chair of the authority’s planning committee, made waves in July by using his casting vote to break a deadlock and approve a battery energy farm in Park Road, Overseal.

He had said: “Refusing this would be nothing other than a temporary reprieve.