Elections

A Neighbourhood Planning Referendum for the Edenfield Neighbourhood Plan will be held on Thursday 20 February 2025.

You can view the Notice of Referendum here.

The question which will be asked in the Referendum is:

“Do you want Rossendale Borough Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Edenfield Neighbourhood Area to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

Relevant documents relating to the neighbourhood plan can be viewed here.  Edenfield Community Centre will be the polling station for this referendum.

Register to vote

Registered voters will be sent a poll card from Friday 24 2025 January onwards. If you have not received a poll card by the end of January, or you have recently moved, you may not be registered to vote.  You can register to vote online or contact Electoral Services and request a paper copy of the form.  The deadline to register to vote at this referendum is midnight on Tuesday 4 February 2025.

Who can vote

To vote at these elections, you must be aged 18 or over on referendum day and be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen, or a qualifying citizen of a member state of the European Union.

Your name must appear on the Electoral Register before you can vote.

Voting by post

Voters who have already requested to vote by post will be sent a postal poll card in January with information about their postal vote.  If you wish to cancel your postal vote and vote in person at your polling station, you must notify Electoral Services before 5pm on Wednesday 5 February 2025

If you wish to apply to vote by post, you must submit your application before 5pm on Wednesday 5 February 2025.  You can apply for a postal vote online here.

If you require a postal vote because you will be away on referendum day but are going away before they are posted around 8 February (please see further information about issue dates below), you may wish to consider voting by proxy instead.  if you wish to vote by proxy, you must submit your application before 5pm on Wednesday 12 February 2025.  If you are already registered to vote by post, you must cancel your postal vote before 5pm on Wednesday 5 February 2025 if you now wish to vote by proxy.  You can apply for a proxy vote here.

When will I receive my postal vote?

Postal votes will be issued by 1st class post on 7 February 2025.

If you have not received your postal vote by Friday 14 February 2025 please contact Electoral Services.

How do I complete my postal vote?

When you receive your postal vote, read the instructions carefully.  Your postal vote includes the ballot paper and a postal voting statement.

Voting by proxy

If you will be away or cannot go to the polling station on 20 February, you can apply to vote by proxy.  This means someone else can vote on your behalf.

Completed applications must reach us before 5pm on Wednesday 12 February 2025.  Your appointed proxy must attend your polling station to vote on your behalf.  If they are unable to attend your polling station they can apply to vote by postal proxy but they must do so before 5pm on Wednesday 5 February 2025.  You can apply to vote by proxy here.

If after 5pm on Wednesday 12 February you have a medical emergency or learn you cannot go to the polling station because of work reasons, you can apply to vote by emergency proxy.  This means someone else can vote on your behalf.  The deadline for completed applications is 5pm on Thursday 20 February 2025.

How to vote

Always read the instructions on how to complete the ballot paper carefully, even if you have voted before.

The ballot paper will contain the question shown above and you have the choice of voting 'yes' or 'no'.