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Local Government Boundary Commission For Report No. 186 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

BOUNDARY COMMISSION

FOR ENGIiAND

REPORT NO. 186. LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND

CHAIRMAN Sir Edmund Compton GCB KBE

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN Mr J M Rankin QC

MEMBERS Lady Bowden Mr J T Brockbank Professor Michael Chisholm Mr R R Thornton CB DL Sir Andrew Wheatley CBE PW

To the Rt Hon Merlyn Rees, MP Secretary of State for the Home Department

PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE STRATFOHD-ON-AVON DISTRICT OF THE COUNTY OF

1. We, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, having carried out our initial review of the electoral arrangements for the district of Stratford-on-Avon in accordance with the requirements of section 63 of, and Schedule 9 to, the Local Government Act 1972, present our proposals for the future electoral arrangements of that district*

2* In accordance with the procedure laid down in section 60(1) and (2) of the 1972 Act, notice was given on 31 December 197^ that we were to undertake this review. This was incorporated in a consultation letter addressed to Stratford- on-Avon District Council, copies of which were circulated to Warwickshire County Council, Parish Councils and Parish Meetings in the district, the Member of Parliament for the constituency.concerned and the headquarters of the main political parties. Copies were also sent to the editors of the local newspapers circulating in the area and to the local government press* Notices inserted in the local press announced the start of the review and invited comments from members of the public and from any interested bodies.

3- Stratford-on-Avon District Council were invited to prepare a draft scheme of representation for our consideration. In doing so, they were asked to observe the rules laid down in Schedule 11 to the Local Government Act 1972 and the guidelines which we set out in our Report No 6 about the proposed size of the council and the proposed number of councillors for each ward. They were also asked to take into account any views expressed to them following their consul- tation with local interests. We therefore asked that they should publish details of their provisional proposals about a month before they submitted their draft scheme to us, thus allowing an opportunity for local comment. ^. In accordance with section 7(^)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 the

Council have exercised an option for a system of elections by thirds,

5. On 10 June 1975 the District Council presented their draft scheme of repre- sentation. The Council proposed to divide the area of the district into 3^ wards each returning 1, 2 or 3 councillors to form a council of 55'members. ' - . '

6. The Council's submission included copies of the correspondence received by

then during their local consultations and we noted that in a number of instances

the District Council had not been able to adopt the suggestions which had been made to them and incorporate them in their draft scheme. We reviewed all these ' ' ' suggestions during our examination of the Council's proposals together with a number of other comments which had been sent direct to us by local interests,

7. Among the comments were a number of letters dealing with the District Council's

proposed Burton Dassett, , and wards. From these comments we noted that the district Council's proposals had been received in the locality with considerable misgivings'although there was by no means unanimity as to what should be done instead. We concluded that it would be appropriate to

transfer the parish of to the proposed Harbury ward and to regroup

the rest of the parishes in the proposed Burton Dassett ward to establish two

single member wards corresponding to the present Wards 23 (Burton Dassett,

Chudshunt, Uaydon and Kadway) and 36 (, , Horeton ticarell and and Ashorne). We decided to name these wards "Burton Dassett"

and "Moreton Korrell" respectively. • . ti. We could find no strong grounds to modify the District Council's proposals

in response to the other representations w.dch had been made and we resolved

to reject them. 9* We then examined the scheme to see whether there were any other modifica- tions which could be made to improve the standard of equality of representation in some parts of the district. A number of possibilities were examined but having regard to the pattern of the parishes and/or parish wards in the localities concerned we made no change.

10. Subject to the changes referred to in paragraph 7 above we decided that the District Council's draft scheme provided a reasonable basis for the future electoral arrangements for the district in compliance with the rules in Schedule 11 to the 1972 Act and our guidelines and we formulated our draft proposals accordingly.

11. On 31 December 1975 we issued our draft proposals and these were sent to all who had received our consultation letter or had commented on the Council's draft scheme. The Council were asked to make 'these draft proposals and the accompanying map, which defined the proposed ward boundaries, available for inspection at their main offices. Representations on our draft proposals were invited from those to whom they were circulated and, by public notices, from "Other members of the public and interested bodies. We asked that any comments should reach us by 2? ^ebruary 1976.

12. The Stratford-on-Avon District Council informed us that they had no comments on the draft proposals but requested that we should consider carefully any comments made by parish councils. The Council also forwarded a letter which they had received from the Bidford-on-Avon Parish Council accepting our proposals insofar as they related to that parish.

13. The Arrow Parish Council*supported by the Parish Council, objected to the proposals to include the parishes of Arrow and Weethley in the proposed ward and requested that they should be included in the proposed Alcester ward. From a local residents association we received comments reiterating . an earlier objection which they had made to the inclusion in the proposed Alcester ward of the Oversley Green ward of the parish of Alcester. From a resident of the parish of Exhall we received a letter suggesting the inclusion of that parish in the proposed Bardon ward instead of the proposed Bidford ward as we had proposed. Finally there was a letter from the parish council suggesting that the proposed E-ttington ward should be renamed "Goldicote".

1*f. In view of these comments, we decided that we needed further information .to enable us to reach a conclusion. Therefore in accordance with section 65(2) of the 1972 Act and at our request, Mr L P Wallen was appointed aa an Assistant Commissioner to hold a local meeting and to report to us.

15« The Assistant Commissioner held a meeting at Alcester on 26 Hay 197&. A copy of his report to us of the meeting is attached at Schedule 1 to this report.

16. After inspecting the area concerned, the Assistant Commissioner accepted.the case presented on behalf of the Oversley Green ward of the parish of Alcester. and recommended that it should form part of the ward returning one councillor. He recommended also that the Alcester ward, returning 3 councillors, should consist of the Alcester and Oversley wards of the parish of Alcester, together with the parishes of Arrow and Weethley. Finally he recommended that the parish of Exhall should be included in the Bardon ward.

17* *e considered our draft proposals again in the light of the comments which had been received and of the Assistant Commissioner's Report. We concluded that the alterations recommended by the Assistant Commissioner should be adopted* Subject to these modifications, we decided that our draft proposals should be confirmed as our final proposals. 18. Details of these final proposals are set out in Schedules 2 and 3 to this report. Schedule 2. gives the names of the wards and the number of councillors to be returned by each. Schedule 3 defines the areas of the new wards. The boundaries of the new wards are illustrated on the attached map. Schedule 4 shows our proposals for the order of retirement of councillors*

19. In accordance with Section 60(5)(b) of the Local Government.Act 1972, a copy of this report and a copy of the map are being sent to Stratford-on-Avon District Council and will be available for public inspection at the.Council's main offices, Copies of this report are also being sent to those who received the consultation letter and to those who made comments.

L.S. i Signed

EDMUND COMMON (CHAIRMAN) ..,','

JOHN M KANKIN (DEPUTY CHAIHMAN)

PHYLLIS BQWPSH \;

J T BROCKBANK

MICHAEL CEESHOLM

R R THOHNTOH

- AJJDREff \VHE\TLEY

N DIGNET (Secretary)

13 January 1977 SCHEDULE 1

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1972 -

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND

REPORT of the Assistant Commissioner appointed to hold a local meeting to inquire into the future electoral arrangements for the District of Stratford- on-Avon

I was appointed an Assistant Commissioner of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to hold a local meeting to hear representations relating to the following proposed Wards:

Ettington Alcester Salford Priors Kinwarton Bidford Barden

I held the meeting at the Alcester Sub-Office of the Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Kinwarton Road, Alcester, Warwickshire on Wednesday, 26th May, 1976 at 10.30 a.m.' The following persons attended:-

Name Office or Status Representing ^^^^H Mr. T. J. W. Foy Chief Executive Officer Stratford-on-Avon D.C. Mr. D. Collett District Councillor Existing Ward 6 Mr. C. D. Gough District Councillor Existing Ward 5 Parish Councillor Alcester Mrs. S. Harding District Councillor Existing Ward 7 Parish Councillor Kinwarton Mr. A. R. Hillman District Councillor Existing Ward 11 Mr. H. Mills District Councillor Existing Ward 12 Parish Councillor Aston Cantlow Mr. M. Wells District Councillor Existing Ward 30 Mr. D. Car gill Parish Councillor Alcester Mr. W. Mai in Parish Councillor Alcester Mr. L. Wide Parish Councillor Alcester Mr. J. E. Fox Chairman Alderminster Parish Council Mr. W. T. Meadows Parish Councillor Alderminster Mr. H. H. Sims Executive Officer Alderminster Parish Council Mr. R. A. Mole Chairman Arrow & Weethley Parish Council Mr. K. B. Davis Parish Councillor Arrow & Weethley Mr. C. Smith Parish Councillor Aston Cantlow Mrs. P. Pepper Chairman Bidford-on-Avon Parish Council Mr. J. B. Faulkner Parish Councillor Bidford-on-Avon Mr. W. B. Horton Chairman Kinwarton Parish Council Mr. A. T. Howie Parish Councillor Kinwarton Mr. J. W. Kinnersley Parish Councillor Kinwarton Mrs. J. Day Clerk Kinwarton Parish Council Mrs.M. E. Hall Resident - Exhall Parish Mr.-D. £ . Wood Resident - Bidford-on-Avon Mr. A. E. Smith Member - Oversley Green Oversley Green Residents Residents Association Association Mrs. M. Pope interested in Alcester/Arrow situation -2-

3. At the meeting the Stratford-on-Avon District Council raised no objection to the Commission's Draft Proposals, which are based very largely on their own Draft Scheme, but.were willing to see those Draft Proposals amended in any way which would meet the wishes of the local electorate and be acceptable to the Commission. The main objections to the Commission's Draft Proposals came from the electorate of the Parish of Alcester and from certain adjoining parishes. . . : ; 4. Alcester Ward

4.1 Alcester is a small town situate in the Parish of Alcester. For the purpose of electing parish councillors the Parish is.divided into three wards, namely, Alcester, Oversley and Oversley Green. The town lies within the Alcester and Oversley Wards, Oversley Green Ward being a somewhat sparsely developed residential area lying south of the town and in many respects quite separate from it. To the west of the Parish of Alcester lies the Parish of Arrow. The main centre of population in that Parish is the village of Arrow which is within a mile of the centre of the town of Alcester and closely associated with it on economic and social grounds. Immediately south west of the Parish of Arrow is the small Parish of Weethley with a present electorate of 3, which is not expected to increase by 1980. For all practical purposes the Parishes of Arrow and Weethley must therefore be considered together. Immediately to the East of the Parish of Alcester, and having a length of common boundary with the Oversley Green Ward of Alcester, lies the Parish of Kinwarton which, although more densely developed than the Oversley Green Ward, is also predominantly a residential area. .

4.2 The Commission's Draft Proposals for the division of the foregoing area into Wards for the purposes of the election of district councillors are as follows:

(1) that the Parish of Alcester shall be a single Ward returning three Councillors;

(2) that the Parishes of Arrow and Weethley shall.be joined with the Parish of Salford Priors immediately to the south to form a Ward returning one Councillor; i (3) that the Parish of Kinwarton shall be joined with the Parish of , immediately to its north-east to form a single . member Ward. These proposals are analysed numerically as follows:- Ward Constituent 1975 ' ' 198Q Parts Electorate Entitlement Electorate Entitle- (55 member . ment(55 council) . member council) Alcester Alcester Ward 1768 1.39 . 1868 ' Oversley Ward 1434 1.13 1634 Oversley Green Ward -3-

Ward Constituent 1975 1980 Parts Electorate Entitlement Electorate Entitlement (55 member (55 member council) council) Salford Parish of 966 0.76 966 0.72 Priors Salford Priors Parish of Arrow 162 0.13 162 0.12 Parish of 3 0.00 3 0.00 ' Weethley

1131 0.89 1131 0.84

Kinwarton Parish of 530 0.42 710 0.53 Kinwarton Parish of 341 0.27 361 0.27 Great Alne

871 0.69 1071 0.80

4.3 The objections to these proposals are two-fold. ' First, the electors of the Oversley Green Ward of the Parish of Alcester, represented by the Oversley Green Residents Association, wish that Ward to be detached from the Alcester Ward for the election of District Councillors and added to the Kinwarton Ward. They make this request on the grounds that the Oversley Green Ward is quite separate, both physically and in character, from the rest of the Parish of Alcester and has much in common with the Parish of Kinwarton, another predominantly residential area. The request is not opposed by the Alcester Parish Council and is supported by the Kinwarton Parish Council.

On the basis of the Commission's Draft Proposals the Kinwarton Ward is appreciably over-represented by a single councillor. The addition of the Oversley Green Ward of the Parish of Alcester to Kinwarton will improve the figures of 0.69 for 1975 and 0.80 for 1980 as follows:-

1975 1980

Parish of Kinwarton 0.42 ' 0.53 Parish of Great Alne 0.27 0.27 Oversley Green Ward of Parish of Alcester

Having inspected the areas concerned, I accept the case presented on behalf of 'the Oversley Green Ward of the Parish of Alcester and recommend that for the purposes of the election of district councillors it should form part of the Kinwarton Ward returning one councillor.

4.4 The second main objection to the Commission's Draft Proposals in . relation to the Parish of Alcester came from the Parishes of Arrow and Weethley which did not wish to be included in the Salford Priors Ward but asked to be added to the Alcester Ward. They based their request upon the fact that the main centre of population of the two parishes is the village of Arrow which is very near the town of Alcester but some -4-

six miles away from the substantially larger village of Salford Priors which would almost inevitably be the centre of activity of the Commission's proposed Salford Priors Ward.

The effect of this request would be to reduce the'population and entitlement of the Salford Priors Ward to 966 and 0.76 in 1975 and to 966 and 0.72 in 1980. As these figures are greater for both years than the corresponding figures for the Moreton MorrellWard proposed by the Commission, I assume them to be acceptable.

The Alcester Parish Council agree to the inclusion of the Parishes of Arrow and Weethley in the Alcester Ward (after the exclusion therefrom of the Oversley Green Ward of the Parish). The Ward would then be constituted as follows:-

Ward Constituent 1975 1980 Parts Electorate Entitlement Electorate Entitlement (55 member , (55 member' council) . council) Alcester Parish of Alcester Alcester Ward -1768 Oversley Ward 1434 Parish of Arrow 162 Parish of Weethley 3

3367 2.65 3667 2.73

These figures, which for a three member. Ward involve, a deviation from the average of 12% reducing to 9%, appear, to me to be acceptable, but I was also asked to consider recommending the division of the Ward into two, the first, a two member Ward consisting of Alcester Ward of the Parish of Alcester together with the Parishes of Arrow and Weethley. and the second, a single member Ward, being the Oversley Ward of the Parish of Alcester.

On the basis of the figures set out above the 2 member Ward would have an entitlement of 1.52 councillors on the 1975 electorate and of 1.51 in 1980. The corresponding figures for the single member Ward would be 1.13 and 1.22. As both figures for 1975 shown an appreciable deviation from the average and as that deviation, instead of reducing by 1980 becomes more pronounced, I find myself unable to support the suggested division. I therefore recommend that for the purposes of the election of district councillors the Alcester Ward, returning 3 councillors, be constituted as set out in the immediately preceding table. 5. Parish of Exhall 5.1 Moving away from the Alcester Ward, the next issue raised at the Local Meeting related to the Parish of Bxhall which in the District Council's Draft Scheme and in the Draft Proposals of the Commission, is included in the two-member Bidford Ward. The electiws of the Parish of Exhall, represented by Mrs.M. E. Hall, ask that the Parish .should be transferred. from the Bidford to the Barden Ward which covers four Parishes including . In part the boundary between the Bidford and Barden Wards -5-

follows the inter-parish boundary between Exhail and Temple Grafton. Astride this inter-parish boundary lies the village of Ardens Grafton, a conservation area^which Mrs. Hall and her supporters maintain should be included in a single district council electoral Ward rather than being divided between two. Mrs. Hall, who lives in Ardens Grafton told me she had canvassed all but 14 of the 138 electors in the Parish of Exhall and all 124 were in favour of Exhall being transferred from the proposed Bidford to the proposed Barden Ward,

5.2 Included in the Bidford Ward is the Parish of Bidford-on-Avon with an electorate of 2056 most of which is concentrated in the small town of the same name in the centre of the parish. The village of Exhall lies some 3 miles north of the town of Bidford-on-Avon and I see this as another instance of an out-ly.xng village seeking to avoid being over- shadowed by a town in the samo Ward. There is no centre of population approaching the size of Bidford-on-Avon in the Barden Ward .hence the desire of the Parish of Exhall to be transferred to that Ward. As there was no opposition at the local meeting to this transfer and as the effect will be only relatively marginal so far as the representation of the two Wards is concerned, I believe this to be a case where the wishes of the electorate of the Parish of Exhall should prevail. I accordingly recommend that tho Parish of Exhall should be included in the Barden Ward.

6. Ward

6.1 Finally, I am asked to consider the Ward name for the Ward covering the Parishes of Alderminster, Efetington and Loxley. In the Draft Scheme of the District Council and the Draft Proposals of the Commission this Ward is named Ettington, following the basic principle that Ward names should be as short as possible and., where no neutral name suggests itself, are best named after the largest parish in the Ward.

6.2 Of the present Ward electorate of 1164, 54% are resident in the Parish of Ettington and this percentage is estimated to increase to 55 in 1980. In terms of the electorate not only therefore is the Parish of Ettington the largest in the Ward, but It is larger than Alderminster and Loxley added together. Nevertheless, the Aiderminster Parish Council consider that they will lose a degree of their identity if the Ward bears the name of Ettington and they therefoce suggest the neutral name of "Goldicote".

This suggested name derives from Goldicote House which however lies just_ inside the northern boundary of the Parish of Alderminster where that Parish borders in the Stratford Alveston Ward. I heard nothing at the local meeting to suggest that "Goldicote" would be locally recognisable as relating to the Ward and in the circumstances, although I appreciate the reasons lying behind the suggestion of the Alderminster Parish Council, I regret that I cannot support it.

6.3 As no other neutral name for the Ward was suggested I recommend that the Ward comprising the Parishes of Alderminster, Ettington and Loxley bear the name of the largest parish - Ettington.

Assistant Commissioner

June 1976. SCHEDULE 2

DISTRICT OF STRATFORD-ON-AVON: HAKES OF PROPOSED WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

NAME OF WARD NO.OF COUNCILLORS ALCESTER 3 ASTON CANTLOW 1 BARDON 1 BIDFORD 2 1 BURTON DASSETT 1 1 COMPTON 1 ETTINGTON 1 FABNBOROUGH 1 HAHBURY . 3 HENLEY 2 KINETON 1 KIHWARTON 1 LONG ITCHINGTCN 1 MORETON MOHRELL 1 NAPTON PRIORS 1 QUINTON 1 SALFOHD PRIORS 1 SAHBOURNE 1 SHIPSTQN 2 SNITTERFIKLD 1 3 STRATFORD ALVESTON 3 STltATFORD GUILD 3 STliATFORD MARKET HALL 3 STRATFORD NEW TOWN 3 STUDLEY 3 TAHWOOTH EARLSWOOD 1 TANWORTH 1 TREDINGTON 1 VALS OF THL' RED HORSE 1 WELFORD 1 WELLKSBOURI^E 2 WOOTTOH WAWEN 1 SCHEDULE 3

DISTRICT OF STRATFORD-ON-AVON: DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED WARD BOUNDARIES

ALCESTER WARD The Alceater and Overeley wards of the parish of Alcester The parishes of Arrow Weethley ASTON CANTLOW WARD The parishes of Aston Cantlow Billesley

BAltDON WARD The parishes of Exhall - Luddington Old Stratford and Drayton Temple Grafton

BIDFORD WARD The parishes of . Bidford-on-Avon

BRAILES WARD . The parishes of Barcheston Brailes Cherington Honington Stourton Sutton-under-Brailes BURTON DASSETT.-WARD The parishes of Burton Dassett Chadshunt

CLAVKRDCN WARD The parishes of Claverdon Langley Wolverton

COI1PTON WARD The parishes of Barton-on-the-Heath Little Gompton Little Volford Long Compton ETTINGTON WARD The parishes of ...... Alderrainster Ettington Loxley FAHNBOHOUGH WARD The parishes of Farnborough and Upton Shotteswell • • ' Warmington HARBURY WARD The parishes of Bishop's Itchington Chesterton & Kingston Harbury Lighthorne Ufton .

HENLLT WARD The parishes of Beaudesert , Henley-in-Arden •'. '. TJllenhall

KINETON WARD The parish of Kineton

KIWWARTON WARD The parishes of Great Alne Kinwarton and the Oversley Green ward of the parish of Aleester . .

LONG ITCHINGTON WARD The parish of Long Itcjiington

MOHETON MORRELL WARD The parishes of Gombrook Corapton Verney Moreton Horrell Newbold Pacey

NAPTON PRIORS WARD The parishes of Upper Shuckburgh

QUINTON WARD The parishes of Addington on iJtour Quinton Whitchurch SALFORD PRIORS WARD The parish of Salford Priors

SAMBOUHNE WARD The parishes of Coughton and the ward of the parish of Studley

SHIPSTON WARD The parish of Shipston on Stour

SNITTERFIELD WARD The parishes of • ' Fulbrook .'- . SOUTHAM WARD The parishes of Chapel Ascote Hodnell Ladbroke Lower Radbourn Southam Stockton Stoneton Upper Radbourn Wills Pastures Worraleighton

STRATFORD ALVESTON WARD The Tiddington and Bridgetown wards of the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon

STRATFORD GUILD WARD The Old Town and .Shottery wards of the parish of o Stratford-upon-Avon

STRATFORD MARKET HALL WARD The Biehopton and Elm wards of the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon

.STRATFORD NEW TOWN WARP The Clopton and Welcombe wards of the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon

STUDLEY WARD The Studley ward of the parish of Studley

TANWORTH EARLSWOOD WARD The Earlswood ward of the parish of $anworth-in-Arden

TAHWORTH WARD The Tanworth ward of the parish of Tanworth-in-Arden TREDINGTON WARD The parishes of Stretton on Fosse Tredington

VALE OF THE RED HOUSE WARD The parishes of Halford Oxhill Fillerton Priors Tysoe

WELFORD WARD The parishes of Long Marston Weifo rd-on-Avon Weston-on-Avon

WELLESBOURNE WARD The parish of Wellesbourne

HDOTTON WAWEN WARD The parishes of SCHEDULE 4 STRATFORD-ON-AVON DISTRICT COUNCIL

ELECTION BY THIRDS ORDER OF RLTIRbT.lM AND PA1USH ELECTIONS

ORDER OF RiiTIRU-lKNT NAME OF WARD !;O.OF COUNCILLORS RKPRF.SJJNTING WARD i960 1982 1983

ALCESTER 3 1 1 1 PK ^ ASTON CAIJTLOW 1 1 PE BARDON 1 1 PK BIDFOitD 2 1 PE 1 - BRAILS 1 1 PE BURTON DASSETT 1 1 PJ2 CLAVERDON 1 . 1 PE COMPTON 1 1 PE ZTTINGTON 1 . 1 FE FARNBOROUGH 1 1 .PE HARBURY 3 1 1 1 PE HENLEY 2 1 PE 1 KINETON 1 1 PE KINWARTON 1 1 Fii 1 . 1 PK MORETON MORRKLL 1 1 PE NAPTON PRIORS 1 1 PE qUINTON 1 1 PE SALFORD PHIORS 1 1 PE SAMBOURNE 1 1 PE SHIPSTON 2 1 PE , 1 SNITTERFIELD 1 1 PE SCUTHAl-i 3 1 1 1 PE STRATFORD ALVESTON 3 1 'v • 1 PK STRATFORD GUILD 3 1 1 1 PE STRATFORD MARKET HALL 3 . 1 1 1 PE STRATFORD NEW TOWN 3 1 1 1 PE 3TUDLEY 3 1 1 1 1'rJ . TANWCRTH EAHLSWOOD 1 1 i'^- TANWORTH 1 1 Pii TREDINGTON 1 1 PE VALE OF THE :

PE = Parish Elections