{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/charter-trustees-order-1974/article-4",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/charter-trustees-order-1974/article-4.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1974/176",
  "legislation_title": "The Charter Trustees Order 1974",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/charter-trustees-order-1974",
  "path": "article/4",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "4",
  "heading": "Appointment of local government electors as trustees",
  "text": "(1) The provisions of this article shall have effect where a local government elector, or two local government electors, for a city or town fall to be appointed by the district council as charter trustees under section 246(4)(a) of the Act.\n(2) One local government elector, or two local government electors, as the case may be, shall be appointed before 25th March 1974 and at the annual meeting of the district council in 1976, 1979 and every fourth year thereafter.\n(3) Any local government elector appointed as charter trustee for a city or town shall (subject to the provisions of the Act and this order) hold office until the time fixed for the meeting of the next annual meeting of the district council at which under paragraph (2) above appointments fall to be made.\n(4) Where the number of district councillors for the wards wholly or partly comprising the city or town is increased to two, such one of the local government electors appointed as aforesaid as may be determined by the district council shall forthwith cease to hold office as a charter trustee.\n(5) Where the number of district councillors for the said wards is increased to three or more, any local government elector appointed as aforesaid shall forthwith cease to hold office as a charter trustee.\n(6) Sections 80(1)(b), (c), (d) and (e), 80(5), 81(1) and (2) and 92 of the Act shall apply to a local government elector being appointed, or holding office as, a charter trustee as they apply to a person being elected to, or being a member of, a local authority subject to any necessary modifications and in particular to the modification that for section 80(1)(e) there shall be substituted—\n“(e) is disqualified for being a member of the council of the district in which the city or town is comprised under Part III of the Representation of the People Act 1949 or for being a charter trustee under Part VIII below.”.\n(7) A local government elector appointed as a charter trustee may at any time resign his office by written notice delivered to the proper officer of the district council and his resignation shall take effect upon receipt of the notice by the proper officer.\n(8) The district council may remove from office a local government elector appointed as a charter trustee under this article if, in their opinion, he has, without sufficient cause, failed to attend two or more consecutive meetings of the charter trustees.\n(9) A casual vacancy in the office of charter trustee shall arise at any time when—\n(a) a local government elector appointed as a charter trustee ceases to be a local government elector for the city or town, becomes disqualified, resigns, is removed by the district council under paragraph (8) above or dies; or\n(b) under electoral arrangements for the time being in force, the number of district councillors for the wards wholly or partly comprising the city or town is reduced to two or one, as the case may be.\n(10) When any such casual vacancy as aforesaid arises, the district council shall, as soon as practicable, appoint a local government elector for the city or town to fill the vacancy.\n(11) A local government elector appointed under paragraph (10) above shall (subject to the provisions of the Act and this order) hold office until the time specified in paragraph (3) above and he shall then retire.\n(12) Where there are so many vacancies in the office of district councillor for the wards wholly or partly comprising a city or town that the charter trustees for the city or town are unable to act, the district council may appoint local government electors for the city or town to fill all or any of the vacancies until other district councillors for these wards are elected and take up office.\n(13) The acts and proceedings of any person appointed and acting as charter trustee shall, notwithstanding his disqualification or want of qualification, be as valid and effectual as if he had been qualified.\n(14) If the register of local government electors is not so framed as to show the local government electors for the city or town, the registration officer shall make such alteration thereof as may be proper for that purpose.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1974/176/article/4",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T21:53:49.193560+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}