Residents living in the Macclesfield Central ward will go to the polls on November 20 to elect a councillor to represent them on Cheshire East Council.

Candidates wishing to stand in the by-election have until 4pm on Friday, October 24 to submit their nomination papers.

The papers must be hand-delivered to the returning officer in the elections office at Macclesfield Town Hall on any weekday, between 10am and 4pm before Friday's deadline.

The vacancy has occurred following the resignation of Ashley Farrall, who won the seat in 2019 and again in 2023 when he represented Labour, but since the end of last year had sat as a non-grouped councillor.

He resigned from the council on September 26 – three days before he was sentenced to 12 months in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice, in a case unrelated to the council.

FULL STORY: Ex-councillor who attempted to pervert the course of justice jailed

The current make-up of Cheshire East Council, which is run by a joint Labour/Independent administration, is Conservatives 34, Labour 28, Independent Group 13, Liberal Democrat 1; Reform UK 1; Independent Socialist 1; Independent non-grouped 3, one vacancy.