Derby Telegraph

New venue for election count as Derby Arena is used for vital Covid jabs

- By ZENA HAWLEY zena.hawley@reachplc.com

AN alternativ­e venue for this year’s local election count on May 6 has been found by Derby City Council.

Instead of taking place at Derby Arena - where the current Covid vaccinatio­n programme is underway - it will take place overnight from 10pm at Powerleagu­e in Derwent Parade, opposite Pride Park Stadium.

The large venue has four indoor five-a-side pitches and extensive function room areas.

There had been growing rumours that Derby Arena, which the city council were allowed to take back for the election count under the terms of its current contract with the NHS, would be used on May 6 and 7.

But the city’s returning officer Emily Feenan, who monitors the city’s elections, confirmed on Monday this week that the counting of votes would not take place at Derby Arena and that an alternativ­e venue was definitely being sought. This would leave the arena free to carry on its vaccinatio­n programme.

Local elections for 17 seats on the city council are due to take place on Thursday, May 6, together with the election for Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commission­er (PCC). Both elections were postponed from 2020 because of the pandemic.

The arena has been home to the election counts for a number of years. However this year, it is playing its part in the fight against coronaviru­s and the council confirmed to Derbyshire Live several weeks ago it was searching for an alternativ­e location that would be big enough to accommodat­e scores of socially-distanced staff.

Ms Feenan said: “Since the arena was earmarked as a vaccinatio­n centre last year, we knew that there would be a crossover with local and PCC elections.

“The Government confirmed in February that the 2021 local and PCC elections would go ahead, and since then our officers have been working to determine alternativ­e count locations, to allow the vaccinatio­n centre to remain open and administer­ing vaccinatio­ns.”

The PCC count will take place at the same venue, but counting will not take place for that until the following after afternoon, May 7.

The NHS, which is overseeing the vaccinatio­n programme, has been booking people into the arena for second jabs on May 6 and 7 for a number of weeks.

Derby Arena delivered its first jabs last December and since then has vaccinated thousands of people.

 ??  ?? Powerleagu­e Derby is where the 2021 local election and PCC counts will take place on May 6 and 7
Powerleagu­e Derby is where the 2021 local election and PCC counts will take place on May 6 and 7

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