Following the death of a respected councillor, a by-election has been called to find her successor.

Liberal Democrat councillor Mona Adams died of lung cancer in May, a year after being elected, having just seen out her year as deputy mayor of Richmond.

She represented East Sheen, where she had lived for more than 50 years with her husband Bernard, and news of her death was met with sadness from all local parties.

Fellow Lib Dem and leader of the council, Councillor Gareth Roberts, called her an “absolute delight” of a friend, and said she was “focussed, dedicated and fiercely loyal”.

Leader of the Conservative group, Councillor Paul Hodgins said it was a “joy to see how much it meant to her to represent our borough”, and deputy leader of the local Green Party Andrée Frieze said she was “deeply saddened” at the news.

The by-election will be held on Thursday, July 18. The full timeline is below.

Thursday, June 13 – publication of election notice

Friday, June 21 – deadline for nominations

Monday, June 24 – publication of nominees

Tuesday, July 2 – deadline to register to vote

Wednesday, July 3 – deadline for new postal vote applications, and to amend existing postal and proxy vote arrangements

Wednesday, July 10 – deadline for new proxy vote applications

Thursday, July 18 – by-election