Issue - meetings

Members considered the proposed ward patterning submission that had been drafted by Officers for the consideration of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Officers were thanked for their hard work in proposing the suggested ward boundaries and preparing the report.  However, Members commented that additional work was needed to ensure that community ties and identities were reflected in the ward boundaries that would be in place in the Borough.  For this reason, Members concurred that the proposed submission that had been drafted by Officers would not be endorsed as the authority’s formal submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.  Instead, Members agreed that no formal submission would be made by the Council in this regard. This recommendation was proposed by Councillor Matthew Dormer and seconded by Councillor Nyear Nazir.

During consideration of this item, reference was made to the number of wards as well as the number of Councillors that would be elected to represent the Borough moving forward.  Some Members expressed the view that 30 Councillors representing 10 wards would be preferable to 27 Councillors representing 9 wards.  Concerns were also raised that, under the proposals detailed in the report, existing communities would be divided.

Questions were raised about the need for ward boundaries to be set in such a way that there would be approximately 7,000 voters per ward.  Members commented that this objective, if applied to considerations about ward boundary divisions, would inevitably result in the break up of existing local communities. 

Reference was made to the previous electoral review that had been carried out for the Borough in 2004.  Members commented that this had also resulted in some communities being divided and it was suggested that in future, ward boundaries needed to reflect communities that would be recognised by the public.

RESOLVED that

Council note the work undertaken by officers in collating and presenting the warding pattern but that Council agree that there be no formal submission by the Council to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England in this regard.