Extract from the Final recommendations on the future electoral arrangements for New Forest in Hampshire
Report to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport & the Regions July 2000 Local Government Commission for England
Colbury, Copythorne South, Forest North and Netley Marsh wards 51 These single-member wards are located in the north-eastern corner of the district, and each is substantially over-represented. Colbury ward, comprising the parish of Ashurst & Colbury, presently varies from the average by 25 per cent (20 per cent by 2004). Copythorne South ward, comprising the South parish ward of Copythorne, is over-represented by 35 per cent both initially and by 2004. Forest North ward, comprising the parishes of Bramshaw and Minstead and the North parish ward of Copythorne, is over- represented by 21 per cent, both initially and by 2004. Netley Marsh ward, comprising the parish of the same name, varies from the average by 26 per cent (24 per cent by 2004).
52 During Stage One the District Council proposed amending the boundary between the Copythorne North and Copythorne South parish wards. The proposed Copythorne North parish ward would be included in a new single-member ward with the parishes of Bramshaw and Minstead, while the revised Copythorne South parish ward would form part of a two-member ward with the parishes of Ashurst & Colbury and Netley Marsh. The proposals for this part of the district were “positively favoured” by the parishes of Ashurst & Colbury and Minstead.
53 However, Bramshaw Parish Council stated a preference for forming part of a ward with the parishes which lie to its west, rather than remaining in a ward with Copythorne North and Minstead. The District Council considered alternative warding arrangements but stated that they would have involved the warding of a parish or an unacceptable level of electoral equality. Netley Marsh Parish Council stated a preference for remaining in a single-member ward, but the District Council did not “realistically expect that such a proposal would be acceptable to the Commission”. This is indeed the case, given the electoral inequality which would result.
54 Copythorne Parish Council stated a desire for the parish not to be divided between two district wards. The District Council considered ways in which this might be possible (for example by forming a two- member ward of Copythorne, Netley Marsh & Minstead); however, it concluded that “it would have caused problems in forming acceptable wards” in this part of the district.
55 The District Council’s proposed northern boundary between Copythorne North and Copythorne South parish wards appeared at first glance to be somewhat arbitrary. Therefore, in consultation with the District Council, we proposed redrawing the boundary along the M27 road until it met the District Council’s proposed boundary. This minor boundary amendment would affect 40 electors and would have a positive effect on electoral equality in both of the proposed wards.
56 We noted the views of Bramshaw and Copythorne parish councils. However, we believed that the District Council had considered all viable options and the impact of such a proposal on the district as a whole. Therefore, we were content that the proposals for this part of the district put forward by the District Council (albeit with a minor boundary modification) secured a substantially improved level of electoral equality without, as far as we could gauge, having an adverse effect on local community ties. Indeed, the parishes of Bramshaw and Copythorne would have similar warding arrangements to those which presently exist.
57 The number of electors per councillor in the proposed wards of Ashurst, Copythorne South & Netley Marsh and Bramshaw, Copythorne North & Minstead under a council size of 60 would vary from the average by 4 per cent and 5 per cent respectively (7 per cent and 5 per cent by 2004). As a consequence of these proposals we made recommendations for change to the parish wards of Copythorne, to reflect the proposed district wards.
58 At Stage Three the District Council expressed support for our proposals in this area and we received no other comments. Having noted this support we propose confirming our draft recommendations for the wards of Ashurst, Copythorne South & Netley Marsh and Copythorne North & Minstead, as final. We consider that the proposals provide the best balance presently available between electoral equality and the statutory criteria. Under our final recommendations the electoral variances would be the same as those under our draft recommendations.
Parish and Town Council Electoral Arrangements
111 In undertaking reviews of electoral arrangements, we are required to comply as far as is reasonably practicable with the provisions set out in Schedule 11 to the 1972 Act. The Schedule provides that if a parish is to be divided between different district wards, it must also be divided into parish wards, so that each parish ward lies wholly within a single ward of the district. Accordingly, in our draft recommendations report we proposed consequential changes to the warding arrangements for the parishes of Copythorne, Fawley, Hordle, Hythe & Dibden, Lymington & Pennington, New Milton, Ringwood and Totton & Eling to reflect the proposed district wards.
112 The parish of Copythorne is currently served by nine councillors representing two wards: Copythorne North parish ward returning three councillors and Copythorne South parish ward returning six councillors. As mentioned earlier, we proposed modifying the boundary between the existing Copythorne North and Copythorne South parish wards to reflect our proposed district ward boundaries, and proposed that the revised wards should return four parish councillors and five parish councillors respectively. During Stage Three, the District Council supported our revised parish wards, therefore we confirm our draft recommendations as final.
Final Recommendation Copythorne Parish Council should comprise nine councillors, as at present, representing two wards: Copythorne North (returning four councillors) and Copythorne South (five). The parish ward boundaries should reflect the proposed district ward boundaries in the area, as illustrated and named on Map A4 in Appendix A.