Hambleton Parish Council Parish Clerk: Mrs S D Adamson

Chairperson: Cllr. Ingrid Millington – Tel:

24th March 2013. Dear Sirs Re: Electoral review of Selby At the Parish Council meeting of 14th March 2013 it was resolved to write to you with reference to the above.

Since its inception the Hambleton Ward of Selby District Council which comprises the parishes of Hambleton, Thorpe Willoughby, Gateforth and Burn, has had 3 District Councillors to oversee the needs and requirements of the Ward. Although 3 District Councillors have been made available for residents of all the Parishes within the Ward, one specific Councillor has directly overseen the needs of the Parishes of Gateforth and Hambleton on a regular basis. There has been limited contact with the other two councillors, over the ensuing years.

This has give the appearance, to residents that no change had been made when the Ward Boundary changed a number of years ago, just those additional Councillors would share the burden of work as and when required.

Hambleton Parish Council has been advised that a proposed boundary change to the ward would see Hambleton, Gateforth and Burn Parishes be joined with the Parishes of Monk Fryston, Hillam, Burton Salmon and Fairburn for the purpose of making all wards within the Selby District equal in size, electorally.

Should such a redrafting of the Boundary take place Hambleton Parish Council would like the following comments and observations to be considered before a final decision is made.

1. The Parishes of Hambleton and Gateforth have been closely linked through the Church and Primary/Junior School, and by having the same District Councillor for many years geographically Gateforth is south of Hambleton and is easily accessible by road. It would be our hope that Hambleton and Gateforth remain in the same Ward.

2. A large Ward made up of Monk Fryston, Hillam, Burton Salmon, Fairburn, Gateforth and Hambleton Parishes is seen as a natural alliance as the Parishes are all West of the urbanised areas of Selby and Thorpe Willoughby, running along the A63 which is a main road into and out of Selby town.

3. The proposal that Hambleton Parish Council has been informed about also included the Parish of Burn, but it is felt that this Parish does not have and never has had any close links to Hambleton, except when the two Parishes were linked by Selby District Council, along with Thorpe Willoughby to make the Hambleton Ward that is now being. Geographically the Parish of Burn is some miles from Hambleton and is South East of the village on the A19, another arterial to and from Selby. A future District Councillor would have to support communities on two major roads into Selby that could lead to conflicting decision being made regarding road safety issued and road management.

4. Hambleton and Monk Fryston, the two villages in such a proposed Ward, both use the A63 to access shops and facilities in Selby and nearby in Sherburn and South Milford and have similar problems relating to road safety and road maintenance, leading easier support from District Councillors.

5. The proposed Ward, as explained by our current District Councillor would have 2 District Councillors to oversee and administrator the needs of the Ward. Hambleton Parish Council have concerns that the Ward will be subdivided, similar to what has happened previously and little of no contact will be with the District Councillor who deals that the other part of the Ward, although at Selby District Council they will be viewed as representing the whole Ward. Our present District Councillor attends very many of our Parish Council meetings and is very easy to contact when the need arises and would hope that this level of service would continue for the Parish Council and the residents of Hambleton.

6. Should a Ward containing Monk Fryston, Hillam, Burton Salmon, Fairburn, Gateforth and Hambleton Parishes be established then the allocation of the parishes into the Selby District Council CEF should be such that all the Parishes in the Ward allocated to the same CEF i.e. the Western CEF. Appropriate consideration should be made regarding the repositioning of which Selby District Council CEF, such a Ward would belong. At present Monk Fryston and Hillam are naturally based within the Western CEF, Hambleton and Gateforth are based rather anomalously in the Southern CEF.

7. In considering making Hambleton Ward equal in size of the electoral votes to other Wards within Selby District, instead of including Burn Parish, which is South-East of Hambleton and South of Brayton, a new Ward could include similar Parishes of West Haddlesey and Birkin. Both villages are close to Gateforth and Hillam, within Birkin having close ecumenical ties with the Church in Hambleton.

8. Should the above suggestion be supported and accepted a logical boundary for a new Ward could include the Selby canal which runs from Selby to West Haddlesey in the South East, then the River Aire that flows along to the South West of West Haddlesey and Birkin. The Parish boundaries of each parish would also provide a final boundary outline.

Yours faithfully

Mrs S Adamson Clerk on behalf of Hambleton Parish Council