Council Issues Information on upcoming Penrith Neighbourhood Planning Referendum

Westmorland and Furness Council have issued information about the Penrith Neighbourhood Planning Referendum referendum to be held in November when voters in Penrith will be asked to vote Yes or No to the adoption of the Penrith Neighbourhood Plan.

Voters in the Penrith Parish area will be able to go to the polls between the hours of 7am and 10pm on Thursday 28 November to cast their ballot on the single question with the Yes, No option.

Eligible residents who are not registered to vote must do so by midnight on Tuesday 12 November 2024.

Voters who wish to vote by post, or want to cancel or amend their postal vote, must apply to do so by 5pm on Wednesday 13 November 2024.

Voters who wish to vote by proxy must apply to do so by 5pm on Wednesday 20 November 2024.

Any voter that does not have photo ID can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate, and they must do so by 5pm on Wednesday 20 November 2024.

Changes to postal vote arrangements with new rules introduced to support the security of postal voting at elections.

If you have an existing postal vote, or as a registered elector, you apply for a postal vote for the referendum the new rules will apply.

The council has said “Anyone returning a postal vote by hand to the Counting Officer must complete a postal vote return form. A postal vote returned by hand that is not accompanied by a postal vote return form will be rejected. There are also new limits on the number of postal votes that can be handed in by one person.”

In the UK voters are legally required to show photo identification when voting at a polling station the new rules will also apply to this referendum.

Without valid ID voters will not be allowed to vote in the referendum. If you don’t already have an accepted form of photo ID, or you’re not sure whether your photo ID still looks like you, you can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate. 

If you need any help with applying for a Voter Authority Certificate or want to request an application form, contact our elections team by email at elections2@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk.

You will only need to show one form of photo ID, but it needs to be the original version and not a photocopy. The name on your ID must be the same name you used to register to vote.

You can use any of the following form of photo ID:

Passport

Driving licence (including provisional license)

Blue Badge

Certain Concessionary Travel Cards

Identity card with PASS mark (Proof of Age Standards Scheme)

Biometric immigration document

Defence identity card

Certain national identity cards

The official notice of referendum that will trigger a 28 day referendum campaign period is expected to be issued on Thursday afternoon (31st October) by the returning officer of Westmorland and Furness Council.