THE cabinet position held by a dedicated councillor who passed away last month will not be replaced.

Joy Broderick, Tendring Council’s cabinet member for Independent Living, died at her home a long battle with illness.

She was first elected to the council in 2007 where she represented the Haven ward, initially as a Conservative, then as an independent before forming the Holland-on-Sea and Eastcliff Matters Party.

She continued to serve as a councillor up until her death.

Her party helped to prop up the Conservative-led administration at Tendring Council following the last election and she was appointed to the new cabinet position of Independent Living, which covered Careline, customer services, CCTV systems, out-of-hours service, the contact centre and council switchboard.

But council leader Neil Stock has now decided to transfer the portfolio holder responsibilities to Paul Honeywood, who is cabinet member for housing.

It means the cabinet will now consist of seven members rather than eight.

Mr Stock said: “Joy’s responsibilities were bespoke to her and one I carved out given her interests and passion, and what she wanted to contribute to more widely within her role on cabinet.

“Given that she has passed away just a few days ago I didn’t want to rush to hand that over, and given Mr Honeywood worked most closely with Joy and his portfolio aligns best, it makes sense for him to pick up that area.

“In the New Year, when the dust has settled a little, I will consider whether I need to rejig all the cabinet roles or simply appoint someone else in, or keep the portfolio with Mr Honeywood – who is more than capable of handling that, with the rest of cabinet assisting.”

Labour councillor Ivan Henderson, deputy leader of the council's opposition, said due to the affect of Covid-19 on the district's elderly population the Independent Living portfolio should not be cut.

"This is not the right time to cut this post," he said.

"The pandemic has led to our elderly people suffering from social isolation - and the issues they face should be a priority at the moment."

Tendring Cabinet said cabinet allowances are a fixed amount so there will be no change to other members’ allowances.