RESIDENTS will be able to vote for their local representatives for Devon, Cornwall, town and parish councils on Thursday, May 2.

Notices of election were published on Wednesday, March 20 in Cornwall and Tuesday, March 26 in Devon marking the formal start of the process. These can be viewed on the county councils' websites and in one stop shops.

For a Cornwall nomination pack, call electoral services on 03001 231115 or email [email protected]">[email protected]. Devon nomination packs are available from each district, visit http://www.devon.gov.uk/electionsandvoting">www.devon.gov.uk/electionsandvoting for more information. All nominations forms, for Cornwall and Devon, must be returned by noon on Friday, April 5.

This is the second set of elections for the unitary Cornwall Council — with the first elections held on June 6 in 2009. In 2009 there were 123 electoral divisions for Cornwall Council but following the Boundary Committee for England's final recommendations, this has changed to 122 divisions with one multi-member division in the Bude area for this year's elections.

There are 213 parish and town councils in Cornwall, with 309 separate electoral areas. It is unlikely that there will be elections in all electoral areas, however, as some are likely to be uncontested. During the last elections only about 60 areas were contested.

The polling stations for the town and parish councils will be the same as those for the Cornwall Council elections and they will use the same ballot boxes with different coloured ballot papers.

The Returning Officer for the Cornwall elections is Paul Masters, the Council's Interim Chief Executive.

Devon has 62 electoral divisions, with councillors representing about 10,000 people each. The organisation of the elections in Devon is undertaken on the council's behalf by Exeter City Council and the seven district councils in Devon.

The County Returning Offi­cer, who is the County Solicitor, appoints Depu­ty Returning Officers, who are senior district council staff, to manage the elections within their respective districts.

Notice of poll (the final statement of people nominated) will be published on Wednesday, April 24. Voting will be open on Thursday, May 2 and the counting of votes begins at 10am on Friday, May 3.

For the full report, and a round up of the area news and sport, please see this week's edition of the 'Post'.