New Electoral Arrangements for Scarborough Borough Council

New electoral arrangements for Scarborough Borough Council Final recommendations April 2018 Translations and other formats For information on obtaining this publication in another language or in a large-print or Braille version, please contact the Local Government Boundary Commission for England:

Tel: 0330 500 1525 Email: [email protected]

The mapping in this report is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Keeper of Public Records © Crown copyright and database right. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and database right.

Licence Number: GD 100049926 2018 Table of Contents Summary ...... 1 Who we are and what we do ...... 1 Electoral review ...... 1 Why Scarborough? ...... 1 Our proposals for Scarborough ...... 1 What is the Local Government Boundary Commission for England? ...... 2 1 Introduction ...... 3 What is an electoral review? ...... 3 Consultation ...... 3 How will the recommendations affect you? ...... 4 2 Analysis and final recommendations ...... 5 Submissions received ...... 5 Electorate figures ...... 5 Number of councillors ...... 6 Ward boundaries consultation ...... 6 Draft recommendations consultation ...... 7 Final recommendations ...... 7 Coastal and Northern parishes ...... 8 Coastal and Southern parishes ...... 10 Coastal and Western parishes ...... 12 Scarborough ...... 16 Whitby ...... 18 Conclusions ...... 20 Summary of electoral arrangements ...... 20 Parish electoral arrangements ...... 20 3 What happens next? ...... 23 Equalities ...... 23 Appendix A ...... 24 Final recommendations for Scarborough Borough Council ...... 24 Appendix B ...... 26 Outline map ...... 26 Appendix C ...... 28 Submissions received ...... 28 Appendix D ...... 29 Glossary and abbreviations ...... 29

Summary

Who we are and what we do

1 The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is an independent body set up by Parliament. We are not part of government or any political party. We are accountable to Parliament through a committee of MPs chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

2 Our main role is to carry out electoral reviews of local authorities throughout England.

Electoral review

3 An electoral review examines and proposes new electoral arrangements for a local authority. A local authority’s electoral arrangements decide:

 How many councillors are needed  How many wards or electoral divisions should there be, where are their boundaries and what should they be called  How many councillors should represent each ward or division

Why Scarborough?

4 We are conducting a review of Scarborough at the request of the Council. Furthermore, the value of each vote in borough council elections varies depending on where you live in Scarborough. Some councillors currently represent many more or fewer voters than others. This is ‘electoral inequality’. Our aim is to create ‘electoral equality’, where votes are as equal as possible, ideally within 10% of being exactly equal.

Our proposals for Scarborough

 Scarborough should be represented by 46 councillors, four fewer than there are now.  Scarborough should have 20 wards, five fewer than there are now.  The boundaries of four wards will stay the same. In the majority of the borough, ward boundaries will change.

5 We have now finalised our recommendations for electoral arrangements for Scarborough.

What is the Local Government Boundary Commission for England?

6 The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is an independent body set up by Parliament.1

7 The members of the Commission are:

 Professor Colin Mellors OBE (Chair)  Susan Johnson OBE  Alison Lowton  Peter Maddison QPM  Steve Robinson  Andrew Scallan CBE

 Chief Executive: Jolyon Jackson CBE

1 Under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. 2

1 Introduction

8 This electoral review was carried out to ensure that:

 The wards in Scarborough are in the best possible places to help the Council carry out its responsibilities effectively.  The number of voters represented by each councillor is approximately the same across the borough.

What is an electoral review?

9 Our three main considerations are to:

 Improve electoral equality by equalising the number of electors each councillor represents  Reflect community identity  Provide for effective and convenient local government

10 Our task is to strike the best balance between them when making our recommendations. Our powers, as well as the guidance we have provided for electoral reviews and further information on the review process, can be found on our website at www.lgbce.org.uk

Consultation

11 We wrote to the Council to ask its views on the appropriate number of councillors for Scarborough. We then held two periods of consultation on warding patterns for the borough. The submissions received during consultation have informed our draft and final recommendations.

12 This review was conducted as follows:

Stage starts Description

16 May 2017 Number of councillors decided

27 June 2017 Start of consultation seeking views on new wards

4 September 2017 End of consultation; we begin analysing submissions and forming draft recommendations

31 October 2017 Publication of draft recommendations, start of second consultation

15 January 2018 End of consultation; we begin analysing submissions and forming final recommendations

3 April 2018 Publication of final recommendations

How will the recommendations affect you?

13 The recommendations will determine how many councillors will serve on the Council. They will also decide which ward you vote in, which other communities are in that ward, and, in some cases, which parish or town council ward you vote in. Your ward name may also change.

2 Analysis and final recommendations

14 Legislation2 states that our recommendations should not be based only on how many electors3 there are now, but also on how many there are likely to be in the five years after the publication of our final recommendations. We must also try to recommend strong, clearly identifiable boundaries for our wards.

15 In reality, we are unlikely to be able to create wards with exactly the same number of electors in each; we have to be flexible. However, we try to keep the number of electors represented by each councillor as close to the average for the council as possible.

16 We work out the average number of electors per councillor for each individual local authority by dividing the electorate by the number of councillors, as shown on the table below.

2017 2023 Electorate of Scarborough 81,691 87,863 Number of councillors 46 46 Average number of 1,776 1,910 electors per councillor

17 When the number of electors per councillor in a ward is within 10% of the average for the authority, we refer to the ward as having ‘good electoral equality’. Eighteen of our 20 proposed wards for Scarborough will have good electoral equality by 2023.

18 Our recommendations cannot affect the external boundaries of the borough or result in changes to postcodes. They do not take into account parliamentary constituency boundaries. The recommendations will not have an effect on local taxes, house prices, or car and house insurance premiums and we are not able to take into account any representations which are based on these issues.

Submissions received

19 See Appendix C for details of the submissions received. All submissions may be viewed at our offices by appointment, or on our website at www.lgbce.org.uk

Electorate figures

20 The Council submitted electorate forecasts for 2023, a period five years on from the scheduled publication of our final recommendations in 2018. These forecasts were broken down to polling district level and predicted an increase in the electorate of around 8% by 2023. This increase is due to significant housing development in Eastfield and Scalby.

2 Schedule 2 to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. 3 Electors refers to the number of people registered to vote, not the whole adult population. 5

21 We considered the information provided by the Council and are satisfied that the projected figures are the best available at the present time. We have used these figures to produce our final recommendations.

Number of councillors

22 Scarborough Borough Council currently has 50 councillors. We looked at evidence provided by the Council and originally concluded that decreasing the number of councillors by five would enable the Council to carry out its roles and responsibilities effectively. We therefore invited proposals for new patterns of wards that would be represented by 45 councillors – for example, 45 one-councillor wards, 15 three-councillor wards or a mix of one-, two- and three-councillor wards.

23 In response to our consultation on warding patterns, we received a borough- wide proposal from Scarborough Borough Council. The Council’s proposal was based on a 46-member council.

24 We received three further submissions about the number of councillors in response to our consultation on warding patterns. All three respondents expressed objections to the reduction in the number of councillors. One respondent preferred that the number of councillors should stay at 50. The other respondents preferred more councillors but did not propose an actual number.

25 We considered a 46-member council would ensure a more even spread of councillors across the borough than 45 members, while reflecting local community identities. Therefore, our draft recommendations were based on a 46-member council. This approach is consistent with our guidance where we explain that it may be necessary to make a small alteration to council size to secure better and more clearly identifiable boundaries.

26 We received several submissions that related to the number of councillors for Scarborough Borough Council during consultation on our draft recommendations. Some respondents agreed with the 46-councillor scheme, while some argued for a further reduction. However, the submissions which argued for a reduction lacked detailed evidence. We have therefore decided to confirm a council size of 46 members as final.

Ward boundaries consultation

27 We received 22 submissions in response to our consultation on ward boundaries. These included a detailed borough-wide proposal from Scarborough Borough Council. We also received localised submissions from three Scarborough borough councillors, one Whitby town councillor, four parish and town councils and 13 local residents.

28 The Council’s detailed borough-wide proposal was based on a 46-member council. We considered the Council’s proposals generally used clear and identifiable ward boundaries and would ensure better electoral equality across the borough than a 45-councillor warding pattern. However, we modified the Council’s ward

boundaries for Aislaby and Whitby to take account of local evidence we received and changed one of the proposed ward names. We also made further ward boundary modifications in Scarborough, Newby, Scalby and Osgodby to improve electoral equality between wards. Our visit to Scarborough to examine the proposals on the ground helped us to decide between the different boundaries proposed.

29 Our draft recommendations were for eight three-councillor wards, 10 two- councillor wards and two single-councillor wards. We considered that our draft recommendations would provide for good electoral equality while reflecting community identities and interests where we received such evidence during consultation.

Draft recommendations consultation

30 We received 28 submissions during consultation on our draft recommendations. These included a borough-wide response from Scarborough Borough Council. The rest of the submissions related to specific areas of the borough, where we received opposition to our draft recommendations for some of our southern and western wards, in the Newby and Cayton areas. We have therefore proposed some changes to these ward boundaries as part of our final recommendations.

Final recommendations

31 Pages 8–19 detail our final recommendations for each area of Scarborough. They detail how the proposed warding arrangements reflect the three statutory4 criteria of:

 Equality of representation  Reflecting community interests and identities  Providing for effective and convenient local government

32 Our final recommendations are for two single-councillor wards, 10 two- councillor wards and eight three-councillor wards. We consider that our final recommendations will provide for reasonable electoral equality while reflecting community identities and interests where we have received such evidence during consultation.

33 A summary of our proposed new wards is set out in the table on page 20 and on the large map accompanying this report.

4 Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. 7

Coastal and Northern parishes

Ward name Number of Cllrs Variance 2023 Danby & Mulgrave 2 7% Esk Valley 2 -4% Fylingdales & Ravenscar 1 -1%

Danby & Mulgrave 34 We received one submission from Councillor Pearson regarding our proposed Danby & Mulgrave ward. Councillor Pearson argued that the proposed ward was geographically too large, suggesting that Glaisdale parish be transferred to the existing Danby ward to help balance elector numbers. Under two single-councillor wards, this would result in a Danby ward with a 9% variance. However, we could not adopt this proposal as it would mean the existing Mulgrave ward would have an unacceptably high variance of 32%.

35 We noted as part of our draft recommendations that while our proposed Danby & Mulgrave ward would be a geographically large ward, we found on our visit that it has good road links from end to end and these good transport links would satisfy effective and convenient local government. As a consequence, we are confirming our draft recommendations for this ward as final.

Esk Valley 36 We received no submissions that related directly to the Esk Valley ward. We therefore confirm our draft recommendations as final.

Fylingdales & Ravenscar 37 We received a submission from Staintondale Parish Council that related to our proposed Fylingdales & Ravenscar ward, which was supportive of expanding the existing Fylingdales ward south to include Staintondale parish.

38 Another submission from a local resident argued that, if the electoral variances were acceptable, Staintondale parish be moved into either Lindhead or Derwent Valley wards, on the basis that transport links in the parish are orientated towards the south. However, moving the parish into either Lindhead or Derwent Valley & Moor ward would result in electoral variances of 16% and 19% respectively. As these variances would not provide for sufficient electoral equality, we are confirming our draft recommendations for the Fylingdales & Ravenscar ward as final.

Coastal and Southern parishes

Ward name Number of Cllrs Variance 2023 Cayton 2 12% Eastfield 3 -6% Filey 3 8% Hunmanby 2 0%

Cayton 39 We received five submissions that related to our proposed Cayton ward. These primarily objected to our proposal to divide the parish of Osgodby between more than one ward to improve electoral equality. These submissions all argued that placing the north-western part of Osgodby parish into Weaponness & Ramshill ward would be seriously detrimental to community identity, while Osgodby Parish Council also argued that the proposed arrangement would not be conducive to effective and convenient local government.

40 On the basis of the evidence received, we have moved the ward boundary back to the existing borough ward and parish boundaries as part of our final recommendations. While this produces a variance of 12%, we were persuaded by the evidence received that splitting the parish into two separate borough wards would not reflect the community identities and interests of Osgodby village.

Eastfield 41 We received no submissions that related directly to this ward. We therefore confirm our draft recommendations as final.

Filey 42 We received three submissions that related directly to Filey ward, all agreeing with our draft recommendations. The submissions, which came from Filey Town Council, Reighton & Speeton Parish Council and a local resident, were supportive of our decision to incorporate the Primrose Valley area and other coastal communities into an expanded Filey ward. We therefore confirm our draft recommendations as final.

Hunmanby 43 Two submissions were received from local parish councils in relation to our Hunmanby ward. Muston Parish Council opposed the name change from Hertford to Hunmanby, arguing that the current ward name has a strong historical and geographical basis, with the River Hertford a defining feature of the ward.

44 We, however, agree with Reighton & Speeton Parish Council, who reaffirmed their support for the ward name change. As noted in the draft recommendations report, Hunmanby is the largest settlement in the ward and we consider this ward name betters reflects community identities within the ward. We therefore confirm our draft recommendations as final.

Coastal and Western parishes

Ward name Number of Cllrs Variance 2023 Burniston & Cloughton 1 -1% Derwent Valley & Moor 2 10% Newby 3 -11% Scalby 2 -4% Seamer 2 3% Woodlands 3 -8%

Burniston & Cloughton 45 We received one submission that related to our draft Lindfield ward from the Council, which suggested the ward name should change to Burniston & Cloughton to represent the major settlements in this area. We agree that this name is more representative of this ward’s communities and thus adopt this name change as part of our final recommendations.

Derwent Valley & Moor 46 We received four submissions relating to our draft recommendations for Derwent Valley & Moor ward. Councillor Jeffels supported the ward in its entirety, while Hackness & Harwood Dale Group Parish Council, which is made up of the parishes of Broxa-cum-Troutsdale, Darncombe-cum-Langdale End, Hackness, Harwood Dale, Silpho and Suffield-cum-Everley, had no objections to being placed in Derwent Valley & Moor ward.

47 One local resident argued against the ward but did not give an explanation as to why. Another local resident stated that the ward was geographically too large, making it difficult for councillors to represent rural, isolated communities effectively. We are not persuaded that the geographical extent of our proposed ward is such, that it would make it difficult for elected members to effectively represent it. Furthermore, in the absence of an alternative warding pattern that provides for good electoral equality, we are confirming our draft recommendations for Derwent Valley & Moor ward as final.

Newby, Scalby and Woodlands 48 During consultation on our draft recommendations, Newby & Scalby Parish Council made a submission which provided very strong evidence for the removal of the Hackness Road parish ward that was proposed as part of our draft recommendations for Newby ward. The Parish Council, the Council and a local organisation also suggested that the Endcliff Crescent and Heathcliff Gardens area be transferred from Newby to Woodlands ward to better reflect community identities.

49 We were persuaded by the evidence received from the Parish Council to move the ward boundary back along Hackness Road, which consequently removes Hackness Road parish ward. This means we have moved electors on Lawrence Grove, The Close, the south side of Hackness Road and the west side of Scalby Road from Newby ward into our Scalby ward. This will provide for a Newby ward with -11% electoral variance. While this is relatively high, we are content that sufficient evidence has been received to justify this change.

50 However, we asked the Parish Council for further views regarding moving the Endcliff Crescent and Heathcliff Gardens area into Woodlands ward. Given the Parish Council strongly opposed any parish warding arrangement that would provide for parish wards with very few electors, we felt it was necessary to inform the Parish Council that by moving the ward boundary north of Endcliff Crescent and Heathcliff Gardens, we would need to create another parish ward with few electors.

51 The Parish Council therefore decided to rescind its original views for transferring this area into Woodlands ward, so as to avoid any further unwanted parish warding arrangements. While the Council and a local organisation also

suggested that this area be moved into Woodlands ward, we were not persuaded that enough evidence was provided to justify the -14% variance that would result in Newby ward.

Seamer 52 We received no submissions that related directly to the Seamer ward. We therefore confirm our draft recommendations as final.

Scarborough

Ward name Number of Cllrs Variance 2023 Castle 3 -1% Falsgrave & Stepney 3 7% Northstead 3 -2% Weaponness & Ramshill 3 4%

Weaponness & Ramshill 53 We received one submission from a local organisation in relation to our Weaponness & Ramshill ward. The community group stated a preference for four councillors continuing to represent the Ramshill and Weaponness areas. In order to ensure good electoral equality under a 46-member council, we are content that the area in question will be represented by the correct number of councillors. Given the proposed council size and the need to ensure good electoral equality, it is not possible for the area in question to be represented by four borough councillors. We have therefore decided to confirm our draft recommendations for this area as final.

Castle, Falsgrave & Stepney and Northstead 54 We received no submissions that related directly to these wards. We therefore confirm our draft recommendations as final.

Whitby

Ward name Number of Cllrs Variance 2023 Mayfield 2 2% Streonshalh 2 -3% Whitby West Cliff 2 -8%

Mayfield, Streonshalh and Whitby West Cliff 55 Whitby Town Council were generally supportive of the ward boundaries in Whitby, believing that the wards proposed are a good fit for the town and will make for effective and efficient local government.

56 However, both the Town Council and a local resident proposed that the ward boundary that runs from New Quay Road roundabout to Whitby Bridge, across New Quay Road, should be amended so that the boundary instead runs from the roundabout, through the Dock End harbour, into the centre of the River Esk and back up to the bridge via the parish ward boundary. We decided not to adopt this change as we feel the boundary proposed as part of our draft recommendations is clearer and more identifiable.

57 With no further submissions received for this area, we are confirming our draft recommendations for the wards of Whitby town as final.

Conclusions

58 The table below shows the impact of our draft recommendations on electoral equality, based on 2017 and 2023 electorate figures.

Summary of electoral arrangements

Final recommendations

2017 2023

Number of councillors 46 46

Number of electoral wards 20 20

Average number of electors per councillor 1,776 1,910

Number of wards with a variance more 5 2 than 10% from the average

Number of wards with a variance more 2 0 than 20% from the average

Final recommendation Scarborough Borough Council should be made up of 46 councillors serving 20 wards representing two single-councillor wards, 10 two-councillor wards and eight three-councillor wards. The details and names are shown in Appendix A and illustrated on the large map accompanying this report.

Mapping Sheet 1, Map 1 shows the proposed wards for Scarborough Borough Council. You can also view our final recommendations for Scarborough Borough Council on our interactive maps at http://consultation.lgbce.org.uk

Parish electoral arrangements

59 As part of an electoral review, we are required to have regard to the statutory criteria set out in Schedule 2 to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (the 2009 Act). The Schedule provides that if a parish is to be divided between different wards it must also be divided into parish wards, so that each parish ward lies wholly within a single ward. We cannot recommend changes to the external boundaries of parishes as part of an electoral review.

60 Under the 2009 Act we only have the power to make changes to parish electoral arrangements where these are as a direct consequence of our recommendations for principal authority warding arrangements. However, Scarborough Borough Council has powers under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 to conduct community governance reviews to effect changes to parish electoral arrangements.

61 As result of our proposed ward boundaries and having regard to the statutory criteria set out in schedule 2 to the 2009 Act, we are providing revised parish electoral arrangements for Whitby parish.

Final recommendation Whitby Town Council should comprise 19 councillors, as at present, representing seven wards: Parish ward Number of parish councillors Abbey 5 Ruswarp 2 Stakesby 5 Town North 2 Town South 1 West Cliff 3 White Leys 1

3 What happens next?

62 We have now completed our review of Scarborough Borough Council. The recommendations must now be approved by Parliament. A draft Order – the legal document which brings into force our recommendations – will be laid in Parliament. Subject to parliamentary scrutiny, the new electoral arrangements will come into force at the local elections in 2019.

Equalities

63 The Commission has looked at how it carries out reviews under the guidelines set out in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. It has made best endeavours to ensure that people with protected characteristics can participate in the review process and is sufficiently satisfied that no adverse equality impacts will arise as a result of the outcome of the review.

Appendix A

Final recommendations for Scarborough Borough Council

Number of Variance Number of Variance Number of Electorate Electorate Ward name electors per from average electors per from average councillors (2017) (2023) councillor % councillor % Burniston & 1 1 1,752 1,752 -1% 1,900 1,900 -1% Cloughton 2 Castle 3 5,358 1,786 1% 5,701 1,900 -1%

3 Cayton 2 3,590 1,795 1% 4,266 2,133 12% Danby & 4 2 4,106 2,053 16% 4,106 2,053 7% Mulgrave Derwent Valley & 5 2 3,943 1,972 11% 4,189 2,095 10% Moor 6 Eastfield 3 4,081 1,360 -23% 5,368 1,789 -6%

7 Esk Valley 2 3,665 1,833 3% 3,665 1,833 -4% Falsgrave & 8 3 5,989 1,996 12% 6,136 2,045 7% Stepney 9 Filey 3 5,707 1,902 7% 6,160 2,053 8% Fylingdales & 10 1 1,886 1,886 6% 1,886 1,886 -1% Ravenscar 11 Hunmanby 2 3,662 1,831 3% 3,823 1,912 0%

12 Mayfield 2 3,444 1,722 -3% 3,904 1,952 2%

14 Northstead 3 5,587 1,862 5% 5,614 1,871 -2%

15 Scalby 2 2,792 1,396 -21% 3,681 1,841 -4%

16 Seamer 2 3,614 1,807 2% 3,920 1,960 3%

17 Streonshalh 2 3,364 1,682 -5% 3,724 1,862 -3% Weaponness & 18 3 5,622 1,874 6% 5,963 1,988 4% Ramshill 19 Whitby West Cliff 2 3,282 1,641 -8% 3,510 1,755 -8%

20 Woodlands 3 5,214 1,738 -2% 5,246 1,749 -8%

Totals 46 81,691 – – 87,863 – –

Averages – – 1,776 – – 1,910 –

Source: Electorate figures are based on information provided by Scarborough Borough Council.

Note: The ‘variance from average’ column shows by how far, in percentage terms, the number of electors per councillor in each electoral ward varies from the average for the borough. The minus symbol (-) denotes a lower than average number of electors. Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Appendix B

Outline map

A more detailed version of this map can be seen on the large map accompanying this report, or on our website: https://www.lgbce.org.uk/current-reviews/yorkshire- and-the-humber/north-yorkshire/scarborough

Key 1. Burniston and Cloughton 2. Castle 3. Cayton 4. Danby & Mulgrave 5. Derwent Valley & Moor 6. Eastfield 7. Esk Valley 8. Falsgrave & Stepney 9. Filey 10. Fylingdales & Ravenscar 11. Hunmanby 12. Mayfield 13. Newby 14. Northstead 15. Scalby 16. Seamer 17. Streonshalh 18. Weaponness & Ramshill 19. Whitby West Cliff 20. Woodlands

Appendix C

Submissions received

All submissions received can also be viewed on our website at https://www.lgbce.org.uk/current-reviews/yorkshire-and-the-humber/north- yorkshire/scarborough

Local Authority

 Scarborough Borough Council

Councillors

 Councillor D. Jeffels (Scarborough Borough Council)  Councillor C. Pearson (Scarborough Borough Council)  Councillor T. Randerson (North Yorkshire County Council)

Local Organisations

 South Cliff Group  The Gallows Close Centre Ltd

Parish and Town Councils

 Filey Town Council  Hackness & Harwood Dale Group Parish Council  Muston Parish Council  Newby & Scalby Parish Council  Osgodby Parish Council  Reighton & Speeton Parish Council  Staintondale Parish Council  Whitby Town Council

Local Residents

 14 local residents

Appendix D

Glossary and abbreviations

Council size The number of councillors elected to serve on a council

Electoral Change Order (or Order) A legal document which implements changes to the electoral arrangements of a local authority

Division A specific area of a county, defined for electoral, administrative and representational purposes. Eligible electors can vote in whichever division they are registered for the candidate or candidates they wish to represent them on the county council

Electoral fairness When one elector’s vote is worth the same as another’s

Electoral inequality Where there is a difference between the number of electors represented by a councillor and the average for the local authority

Electorate People in the authority who are registered to vote in elections. For the purposes of this report, we refer specifically to the electorate for local government elections

Number of electors per councillor The total number of electors in a local authority divided by the number of councillors

Over-represented Where there are fewer electors per councillor in a ward or division than the average

Parish A specific and defined area of land within a single local authority enclosed within a parish boundary. There are over 10,000 parishes in England, which provide the first tier of representation to their local residents

Parish council A body elected by electors in the parish which serves and represents the area defined by the parish boundaries. See also ‘Town council’

Parish (or Town) council electoral The total number of councillors on arrangements any one parish or town council; the number, names and boundaries of parish wards; and the number of councillors for each ward

Parish ward A particular area of a parish, defined for electoral, administrative and representational purposes. Eligible electors vote in whichever parish ward they live for candidate or candidates they wish to represent them on the parish council

Town council A parish council which has been given ceremonial ‘town’ status. More information on achieving such status can be found at www.nalc.gov.uk

Under-represented Where there are more electors per councillor in a ward or division than the average

Variance (or electoral variance) How far the number of electors per councillor in a ward or division varies in percentage terms from the average

Ward A specific area of a district or borough, defined for electoral, administrative and representational purposes. Eligible electors can vote in

whichever ward they are registered for the candidate or candidates they wish to represent them on the district or borough council

The Local Government Boundary Local Government Boundary Commission for Commission for England (LGBCE) was set England up by Parliament, independent of 14th floor, Millbank Tower Government and political parties. It is London directly accountable to Parliament through a SW1P 4QP committee chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons. It is responsible for Telephone: 0330 500 1525 [email protected] conducting boundary, electoral and Email: Online: www.lgbce.org.uk or structural reviews of local government www.consultation.lgbce.org.uk areas. Twitter: @LGBCE