Report by Returning Officer

Further to Minutes 20 and 38 of Policy Committee on 15 July and 26 September 2019 respectively, the Returning Officer submitted a report seeking agreement to the authority’s submission on warding patterns to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE), as part of the LGBCE’s first period of consultation, based on the recommendations of the cross-party Ward Boundary Review Working Party.  The report explained that the LGBCE was undertaking an electoral review of the Council in its 2019-20 programme because the 2017 canvass showed over 30% of the authority’s current wards (5 out of 16) had a variance greater than 10% from the authority’s average ratio of electors, which was 2,443 per Councillor or 7,329 per 3-member ward.  The final submission document had been circulated to all members of the Council on 25 October 2019 and copies were available at the meeting.

The previous review had led to the establishment, in 2001/02, of a Council of 46 Councillors, representing 16 wards, of which 15 were 3-member wards which held elections by thirds.  The first stage of the review process, concerning Council size, had been completed, with the LGBCE accepting the authority’s submission, agreed by Policy Committee on 15 July 2019 (Minute 20 refers), that the authority should continue to have elections by thirds, and that the number of Councillors should be increased from 46 to 48, representing 16 three-member wards across the Borough, in recognition of the significant projected growth in the Borough’s electorate, from 113,590 in 2019 to 121,002 in 2025 (an increase of 7,412 electors, or 6.5%).

The LGBCE’s timetable for completing the review was set out in Table 1 in Section 4 of the report. The LGBCE had commenced the second stage of the review process – public consultation on warding patterns – on 27 August 2019, to run to 4 November 2019. In line with the LGBCE’s good practice advice, the Policy Committee on 26 September 2019 had set up an advisory cross-party Ward Boundary Review Working Party to assist the development of the Council’s response to the consultation.  The Working Party had met twice, on 2 and 22 October 2019, to develop a submission for the authority to make to the LGBCE.  The notes of the Working Party’s meetings on 2 and 22 October 2019 were attached to the report at Appendices A and B.  A map showing the Working Party’s proposals was attached at Appendix C to the report and Table 2, in Section 5 of the report, set out the names of the 16 new three-member wards in the proposal, and their projected 2025 electorates.

The following motion was moved by Councillor Brock and seconded by Councillor Page and CARRIED:

Resolved –

(1)           That the detailed deliberations of the cross-party Working Party be noted and endorsed, and the map showing the Working Party’s proposals be agreed and submitted to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England along with the supporting explanation as set out in the Minutes of the two Working Party meetings and this report;

(2)           That the suggested names of the 16 new wards be agreed as shown in Table 2 in Section 5 of the report and set out below: