No election for Shifnal council due to lack of candidates

Only eight people put their name forward to stand for 15 seats on the council, meaning that they will all be automatically elected unopposed. The remainder of the vacancies will be filled by people who will be co-opted onto the authority by existing councillors.

Mayor of Shifnal Robert Harrop said he was disappointed there had not been more applications, but said the standard of those who had applied was very high.

"We have seen a fair amount of retirement from the council, we have got an ageing council, it is a question of people having the time and the inclination.

"I think generally we would appreciate more people, but we are talking of co-option. We have three people in mind at the moment.

"I'm obviously disappointed, and would encourage people to stand, but it is a voluntary role and we can't force people.

"It's quality, not quantity. I'm more than happy about the quality of the people we have, including the three who will be co-opted."

Mr Harrop said there might be a need to look at making people more aware of how to stand in elections.

One councillor, who asked not to be named, said he had never known a situation like it before.

"It's quite a large town, we are supposed to be having 1,600 new houses built, and we need a strong council," he said.

"I have known problems before, but never anything like this. We should be having members elected."