WICKHAMBREAUX PARISH COUNCIL

Response to the proposed Electoral Review for the District:

The Parish Council has strong reservations about the proposed restructuring of the Council under the Review. It is aware of the public debate and disquiet over the governance of the district that has existed for some years. This would appear to focus on the concentration of power in too few hands, an inevitable outcome of the so-called “Strong Leader and Executive” model. It is also aware that the Localism Act (2011) gave Canterbury City Council the option of returning to the former committee style of management and that the City Council, perhaps unsurprisingly, declined this option.

The Canterbury district comprises three major centres of population – the City itself, and – together with a significant number of rural communities ranging in size from hamlets to small towns. The City Council recently unveiled its Local Plan, envisaging up to 15,000 new homes in the district. With the consequent increase in the electoral constituency, it is neither logical nor sensible to reduce the number of councillors. The district already has the highest population: councillor ratio in and, with the projected expansion of the population, it would in fact be more forward-looking to increase the number of councillors.

To return to the point about power being concentrated in too few hands: in its submission to the Commission, the City Council appears to make a virtue of the drastically reduced participation of City councillors on committees. To acknowledge that “13 of the other 40 non-executive councillors are members of just one or no committees” surely represents a waste of talent. In the Parish Council’s view, less participation is an erosion of the essence of local democracy. The City Council writes of a “substantial” workload for the Executive. The obvious response to this is – share the burden of responsibility.

To underscore the Parish Council’s reservations about the review in general and the concentration of power in too few hands, we would cite our recent experiences with the Development Management Committee: most planning applications, even those objected to by Parish Councils such as ourselves, are forced through, largely because of the dominance of senior councillors, with the majority remaining supine. The Development Management Committee numbered 21 councillors in 2001, which was subsequently cut to 15, then to the current 11. A further reduction to 10 is proposed in the Council’s submission.

The City Council’s submission uses glib phrases such as “clarity of accountability” and “strategic overview” to justify the retention of the Executive. This jargon is typical of a self- serving, self-styled elite seeking to perpetuate its grip on the levers of power. One can only wonder at the sense of disempowerment felt by the large group of “non-executive” councillors. The submission fails to recognise or acknowledge the inherently more democratic basis of the committee system, with involvement of a much greater number of elected representatives.

The Parish Council acknowledges the City Council’s right to structure its own governance, but has strong reservations about the proposed reduction in the number of councillors at a time when the same City Council is proposing a massive increase in the local population.

The Parish Council awaits with keen interest the proposed new ward boundaries and the next round of consultation.

Dr A V O’Sullivan, Chairman, on behalf of Wickhambreaux Parish Council

2nd August, 2013

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