North Council Liberal Democrat Group Submission to Local Government Boundary Commission for Further Electoral Review 2013

Apportionment of councillors

The new council size has been established as 51 councillors. Apportioning this number among the four towns and the rural area (with a few minor modifications as will be explained in our report) gives the following figures:

2018 Seat Rounded Area electorate entitlement to

Weston-super-Mare+Kewstoke+Woodside from Hutton 64,390 19.34 19 Portishead 20,946 6.29 6 Clevedon 17,481 5.25 5 Nailsea+Green Pastures from Wraxall 13,791 4.14 4 Remaining rural area 53,163 15.97 16

Total 169,771 51 50

With rounding the numbers apportioned to the towns & rural area make 50, not 51. On this basis we recommend a 50 member councillor. The average electorate per councillor in 2018 is 3,395.

Single member wards

We recommend the use of single member wards wherever possible for the following reasons. Single member wards mean that electors can easily identify and have stronger links with their councillor. Also with the reduction in council size, and consequent increase in electorate per councillor, we believe multi-member wards will be both geographically and numerically too large to be practical.

Our recommendations for new boundaries

Weston-super-Mare

The town centre & the north of Weston

Our approach here is to expand the present Central parish ward northwards, to take in the north of the High Street and the area around Weston College. This has the advantage of including the whole of the High Street and the central business district in one ward, to be named Central.

The present Ashcombe Wood parish ward is expanded slightly westwards, to a logical boundary between Coombe Road and Bristol Road Lower. The name of this ward will be Ashcombe Wood.

The remaining ward in this area, to be named Birnbeck, is a modified version of the present Birnbeck parish ward, taking in the roads to the north of Grove Park from the present Grove parish ward.

The south of Weston

A new Ellenborough ward is formed by expanding the present Ellenborough parish ward. The southern boundary is moved further south to include all of Severn Road and Whitecross Road, these roads form an important local shopping area and should be united in this ward. The eastern boundary is moved further east to include the Drove Road area. This area is linked to the rest of Ellenborough by the major thoroughfare of Clevedon Road/Brighton Road, and the houses in this area are all of similar character.

The present Clarence parish ward is shifted southwards, to move its southern boundary to Windwhistle Road would make its electorate too large, so a compromise is reached by moving the boundary as far as, but not including, Avenue and Selbourne Road.

Those roads and the remaining area to the south are included in a new Uphill ward. Although it has been a suburb of Weston since 1937, Uphill has retained its distinctive character and clearly definable borders, which cause many to identify it as a separate village. We therefore believe it is right for it to form the basis of a new ward. However, the number of electors means it is necessary to include another area, and we feel that the area known as Coronation would form a most natural and logical part of this Uphill ward. It is both geographically close to Uphill village and shares a distinct physical border which cuts the two off from other parts of Weston, namely the main line and loop line railways. Residents of Coronation would also naturally use facilities within Uphill, such as schools, churches and the pubs. The two are well connected by the main road and are situated either side of Weston General Hospital, issues around which affect them both. It would not be suitable to attach Coronation to other suburbs which are the other side of the railway lines, and have less direct transport links; the existing parish ward of Bournville & Coronation is particularly illogical as it puts together two disparate suburbs which have no road link at all.

This new proposed Oldmixon ward is based on both the historic hamlet of Oldmixon, which was on the lower slopes of Hill, and the more modern housing estate which shares its name. These two elements have in the past been divided into different wards, but we propose that they are re-united. The two form a natural community which shares the community facilities of shops and pub on and around Oldmixon Broadway. The whole of this proposed ward is cut off from the rest of the town by the main line London to Penzance railway line, which forms a clear and distinct border. We have also included the part of Hutton known as Woodside, which we propose to include in this ward by means of creating parish wards in the parish of Hutton, as this is a clear continuation of the urban area, which has spilled over the town boundary.

The Bournville estate, bounded by the two railway lines, makes an ideal ward with strong community identity.

The east of Weston & the Locking Castle development

The present Earlham parish ward is reduced in size, using the edge of a college facility/business park in Locking Road as its eastern boundary. The Bridge Road area, which is isolated from the rest of the town, is included in this ward as it is the part of the town it is closest to, and this unites the areas that have historically been known as the Potteries in one ward.

A new Milton ward is created by combining the present Milton and Ewart parish wards, and modifying them slightly. To leave the eastern boundary of these wards unchanged, would make the electorate of the new ward too large. So the eastern boundary of the new ward is aligned with the junction of Locking Road and Mead Vale, as areas east of this can be considered more a part of the Worle suburb than Weston.

The former Weston Airfield is an area scheduled for major development, and will increase the electorate of the Hutton Moor ward by over 2000 electors by 2018. Therefore it is proposed to use this area as the basis for a new ward, and include with it those roads around the A370 roundabout to its north. The eastern boundary of this ward is a green open space/play area off Maltlands. This ward will retain Hutton Moor as its name.

The remainder of the Hutton Moor parish ward forms a new ward, modified slightly at its eastern boundary. This ward would be named Worle Moor after the main thoroughfare in this area.

The existing Summer Lane ward is modified by including all the area south of the railway line in a new ward, to be named West Wick to better reflect community identity. This ward is also expanded slightly westwards to include all of Merton Drive.

Worle, Worlebury and Kewstoke

The village of Kewstoke is isolated from other rural areas of the district, and does not combine well with other rural areas, either numerically or geographically. So the best solution is for Kewstoke to be combined with part of Weston-super-Mare. We believe the most appropriate area for Kewstoke to be combined with is Worlebury, as this is the area it is geographically closest to, the two settlements have a direct road link, and they are in the same Church of England parish. This ward also includes the Ashbury Drive area. This ward is to be named Kewstoke & Worlebury.

The existing Mead Vale ward is combined with the residential areas around Silverberry Road, to form a ward to be named Worle South. The cul-de-sacs off New Bristol Road, Mayfield Avenue and Watcombe Close, have no link to Mead Vale, and are therefore included in another ward.

The existing Worle East parish ward should form a new ward unchanged.

The existing Castle Batch parish ward and part of Ebdon parish ward should be combined to form a new ward named Worle North. The part of Ebdon ward around Hollow Lane and Lower Kewstoke Road are separated from the rest of the ward and should be included in another ward.

The existing Worle South parish ward is expanded Westwards and renamed Worle Central to better reflect is location.

The remaining areas of Worle form a ward to be named Worle West.

Clevedon

Our approach in Clevedon is to eliminate the existing wards of North and Central and expand the remaining wards. The area of Walton St. Mary to the north of Clevedon is a distinct and separate area from the rest of the town. Nevertheless its electorate is too small to form a ward and it will have to be combined with another part of the town. Our view is that is would be best combined with the area around the Pier and Hill Road, to which is it linked by Wellington Terrace, and to which it is geographically closest.

The existing Clevedon East ward is expanded westwards to include most of the town centre.

The existing Clevedon South ward is expanded, its new boundaries formed by Moor Lane and the old railway line to its west.

The existing Clevedon Yeo ward is expanded westwards to include all the area south of the Land Yeo river.

The remaining areas of Clevedon are included in a ward to be named West.

Nailsea

The area around Green Pastures Road in the parish of Wraxall, is actually a continuous part of the Nailsea urban area. We believe this area would be best served by inclusion in one of the Nailsea wards, by means of creating new parish wards in the parish of Wraxall.

Our plan for Nailsea and this part of Wraxall is for four single member wards, using the main thoroughfares as boundaries.

Portishead

We recommend that the current ACK, ACQ and ACO polling districts be combined to form a ward to be named South. These areas are all close together, all connect to the B3124, and do not have good connections to other parts of the town.

The existing Redcliffe Bay ward, should be expanded slightly eastwards, taking in areas around Nore Road as far as the Golf Course, from the present Coast ward.

The existing Coast ward should shift eastwards, so that its eastern boundary is formed by the Marina. This gives the ward easily identifiable distinct boundaries.

The existing West ward should be expanded to include most of the current ACR polling district, these areas being part of the same continuous urban area and geographically separate from other parts of the town.

The existing Central ward should take in part of Rippleside from the ACR polling district, and its eastern boundary should be formed by Quays Avenue, then following the edge of residential development to the east, and finally along Phoenix Way and Sanderling Place.

East The large residential developments to the East of Portishead have too large an electorate for a single ward, so a compromise is to be found by using a boundary formed by Sanderling Place/end of Kingfisher Road, and including those roads on the western side of this new boundary, closest to the Marina, in Central ward. The remainder of the developments would then form a new East ward, together with The Vale.

Rural

The parishes of Bleadon, Locking and Hutton (except the proposed new Woodside parish ward) should form a two-member ward, to be named Hutton & Locking. This is similar to the present ward. All these villages are close together and have good community links. The expected growth in the Locking Parklands development will mean this ward meets the electoral quota by 2018.

The parishes of Banwell, Winscombe, and Loxton, should form a two-member ward to be called Banwell & Winscombe. This is also similar to the present arrangement. The two major villages are linked by the A371 and share close community ties.

The existing Blagdon & Churchill ward should remain unchanged.

The parishes of St. Georges and Wick St. Lawrence should form a single-member ward with that name. These two parishes are somewhat isolated from other villages in the district, and have both experienced significant development as the Weston urban area has spread outwards. They are linked by Bourton Lane and Ebdon Lane.

The parishes of Kenn, Kingston Seymour and Yatton should form a two-member ward to be named Yatton. The two smaller villages being situated between Yatton and the coast, cannot be combined with anything else, and these villages are linked by the B3133 and share community links.

The parishes of Congresbury, Puxton, Cleeve, Wrington and Butcombe should form a two-member ward to be named Congresbury & Wrington. These villages have good road links and strong community ties.

The parishes of Backwell, Brockley, Barrow Gurney, Winford and Dundry should for a two-member ward to be known as Backwell & Winford. The parishes of Winford and Dundry at the extreme east end of the district are somewhat isolated, but we believe they would be best served by being combined with Backwell.

The parishes of Long Ashton, Flax Bourton, and Wraxall & Failand (except the proposed new Green Pastures parish ward), should form a two-member ward to be known as Wraxall & Long Ashton. These villages have excellent links via the A370 and B roads.

The settlement of Pill, because of its unique character, should remain a single-member ward by expanding further into the rest of Easton-in-Gordano. This would mean the existing Pill parish ward would be modified as shown in our maps.

The remaining parishes of the district; Walton-in-Gordano, Weston-in-Gordano, Clapton-in-Gordano, Tickenham, Portbury, Abbots Leigh, and a modified St George parish ward of Easton-in-Gordano, should form a single-member ward to be known as Gordano.

Proposed Ward maps and electorate figures are attached

A note on how our electorate forecasts were calculated: the commission has supplied 2018 electorate forecasts by current polling district. Where we have split current polling districts, we have allocated the 2018 forecast electorate to each part using the proportions in the current (2013) register, assuming that electorate growth is uniform throughout each polling district, except where a specific large development is planned, ie Weston Airfield.

Consequent arrangements for parishes

Weston-super-Mare

The town of Weston-super-Mare should be represented by 19 town councillors. One town councillor should represent each parish ward, and these will be coterminous with district wards, with two exceptions. The part of the Oldmixon ward within Weston-super-Mare parish should be represented by one councillor, and be named the Oldmixon parish ward. The part of the Kewstoke & Worlebury ward within Weston-super-Mare parish should be represented by one councillor, and be named the Worlebury parish ward.

Portishead

The town of Portishead should be represented by 18 town councillors, with three town councillors representing each parish ward, which will be coterminous with district wards.

Clevedon

The town of Clevedon should be represented by 20 town councillors, with four town councillors representing each parish ward, which will be coterminous with district wards.

Nailsea

The town of Nailsea should be represented by 20 town councillors, with five town councillors representing each parish ward, which will be coterminous with district wards.

Hutton

The parish of Hutton should be divided into two wards, with two councillors representing the Woodside ward, and eight councillors representing the Hutton ward.

Wraxall & Failand

The parish of Wraxall & Failand should be divided into two wards, with seven councillors representing the Wraxall ward, and four councillors representing the Failand ward. Ward Cllrs. Electorate Elec. Per Cllr. Variance from Avge. Weston‐super‐Mare Ashcombe Wood 1 3487 3487.0 3% Weston‐super‐Mare Birnbeck 1 3360 3360.0 ‐1% Weston‐super‐Mare Bournville 1 3460 3460.0 2% Weston‐super‐Mare Central 1 3480 3480.0 2% Weston‐super‐Mare Clarence 1 3178 3178.0 ‐6% Weston‐super‐Mare Earlham 1 3708 3708.0 9% Weston‐super‐Mare Ellenborough 1 3377 3377.0 ‐1% Weston‐super‐Mare Hutton Moor 1 3048 3048.0 ‐10% Weston‐super‐Mare Kewstoke & Worlebury 1 3383 3383.0 0% Weston‐super‐Mare Milton 1 3644 3644.0 7% Weston‐super‐Mare Oldmixon 1 3303 3303.0 ‐3% Weston‐super‐Mare Uphill 1 3340 3340.0 ‐2% Weston‐super‐Mare West Wick 1 3312 3312.0 ‐2% Weston‐super‐Mare Worle Central 1 3149 3149.0 ‐7% Weston‐super‐Mare Worle East 1 3282 3282.0 ‐3% Weston‐super‐Mare Worle Moor 1 3612 3612.0 6% Weston‐super‐Mare Worle North 1 3454 3454.0 2% Weston‐super‐Mare Worle South 1 3623 3623.0 7% Weston‐super‐Mare Worle West 1 3190 3190.0 ‐6% Portishead Central 1 3509 3509.0 3% Portishead Coast 1 3280 3280.0 ‐3% Portishead East 1 3596 3596.0 6% Portishead Redcliffe Bay 1 3436 3436.0 1% Portishead South 1 3582 3582.0 5% Portishead West 1 3543 3543.0 4% Clevedon East 1 3637 3637.0 7% Clevedon South 1 3550 3550.0 5% Clevedon Walton 1 3631 3631.0 7% Clevedon West 1 3164 3164.0 ‐7% Clevedon Yeo 1 3499 3499.0 3% Nailsea Golden Valley 1 3440 3440.0 1% Nailsea West End 1 3133 3133.0 ‐8% Nailsea Yeo 1 3383 3383.0 0% Nailsea Youngwood 1 3111 3111.0 ‐8% Backwell 1 3684 3684.0 8% Banwell & Winscombe 2 6259 3129.5 ‐8% Blagdon & Churchill 1 3170 3170.0 ‐7% Congresbury 1 3180 3180.0 ‐6% Gordano & Wraxall 1 3311 3311.0 ‐2% Hutton & Locking 2 6926 3463.0 2% Long Ashton & Winford 2 7065 3532.5 4% Pill & Easton‐in‐Gordano 2 6623 3311.5 ‐2% St. Georges & Wick St. Lawrence 1 3485 3485.0 3% Wrington 1 3372 3372.0 ‐1% Yatton 2 6812 3406.0 0% Total 50 169771 3395.4