NINE candidates will battle it out for the vacant Bush Hill Park seat on Enfield Council.

Nominations closed on Friday, July 1, for the candidates vying to replace Eleftherios Savva who resigned last month.

Former Mayor of Enfield Lee Chamberlain is the Conservative candidate in a ward which voted all Tory in 2010, and is hoping to return to the council following a year-long absence.

Vying to defeat him is Enfield in Bloom chairman Ivor Wiggett for the Labour Party, Paul Smith for the Lib Dems, and Douglas Coker as the Green party candidate.

Also in the race is Tony Kingsnorth, the vice chairman of the Federation of Enfield Residents' and Allied Associations (FERAA), who is standing as an independent.

Among the candidates hoping voters will turn away from the major parties are Clive Morrison (Christian Party), Gwyneth Wesley Rolph (UKIP), Stephen Squire (BNP), and Ben Weald (English Democrats).

Voters in the ward have until Wednesday, July 13, to register to vote, and the deadline is the same for applications for postal or absentee votes.

The by-election is due to take place on Thursday, July 28.