North Somerset Council Liberal Democrat Group Submission to Local Government Boundary Commission for England North Somerset Further Electoral Review 2013
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
North Somerset Council Liberal Democrat Group Submission to Local Government Boundary Commission for England North Somerset 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, Brean Down 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 Bleadon 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.