THE EXTRAORDINARY meeting of Redditch Borough Council, due to take place tonight (Thursday), to discuss cancelling this year’s local election has been postponed.
The decision has been taken in light of the Met Office’s amber weather warning for severe weather.
A Redditch Borough Council spokesperson said: “We know there was a lot of interest from people to attend this meeting and we are putting their safety first.
“Rescheduling the meeting will also mean that more people will be able to attend.”
The meeting is now due to take place on Tuesday January 13.
The meeting was set to be held at Oakenshaw Community Centre and a protest was due to be held beforehand.
Emma Marshall, who organised the protest, said safety had to come first.
She said: “It was disappointing that the meeting could not go ahead as planned, particularly given the strength of feeling among residents.
“However, I fully understand that the council had to consider the safety of councillors, staff, and members of the public during an amber weather alert. That can’t have been an easy decision.”
Mrs Marshall has confirmed that the peaceful protest will be rescheduled to coincide with the new date.
She said: “The issues at stake have not changed. Residents remain deeply concerned about the proposal to cancel the local elections due in May 2026, and many still feel strongly that their democratic right to vote should be protected.”
The extraordinary meeting was organised in light of a letter from Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness, to councils due to hold elections next year. In it, the local authorities were asked whether they wanted to hold their polls or request they be cancelled.
The meeting was scheduled tonight to ascertain how the council wanted to proceed with Ms McGovern’s request and because the deadline for putting in requests to cancel local elections is now only a week away – next Thursday, January 15.
The Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). A decision is due to take place in the summer of 2026. That would see all district councils and the county council abolished with a vote to establish the new authority is scheduled to be held in May 2027.
