1 Electoral Review 2017 South Gloucestershire Unitary

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ELECTORAL REVIEW 2017 SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE UNITARY COUNCIL COMMENTS ON DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM HANHAM WARD DISTRICT COUNCILLORS

We submit the following comments and proposals on the Electoral Commission’s draft recommendations.

We note that the Commission proposes retaining the Hanham Ward as a three Member Ward taking account of the projected increase in electors under the current review. We supported the Conservative Group proposal which reduced the seat to a two Member Ward if retaining the three Member Ward entailed bringing in additional electorate from the Woodstock Ward.

The Commission’s proposal to expand into the Woodstock Ward (WSC register) would not, in our view, preserve or enhance community ties or make local government more effective. It would, in our opinion, disenfranchise residents in that area and destroy the cohesiveness of the Hanham Ward.

We believe that the only viable and logical option if Hanham Ward is to remain a three Member Ward is to expand towards the east into Hanham Abbots (approx. 1,843 electors, 2023 estimate). This would incorporate the east ward of Hanham Abbots parish council, which is currently in the Longwell Green District Ward, into the Hanham District Ward. The west ward of the parish council is already within Hanham Ward. We believe this would strengthen community cohesion, ensure continuity in the decision-making process and enable a seamless delivery of services by the parish council.

Below we set out our reasons.

Hanham Ward is located on the urban fringe of South Gloucestershire and has strong ties with the rural setting and Green Belt land (Hanham Hills) of Hanham Abbots. Both wards are bordered by the River Avon.

Prior to the abolition of Avon County Council, Hanham and Hanham Abbots Wards were separate under Kingswood Borough Council but were merged when South Gloucestershire Unitary was formed in 1996.

Historically under the predecessor Kingswood Borough Council, Hanham Ward had never included parts of Woodstock or the previous Forest Ward (which was merged with the Woodstock Ward in 1996), but is now included in the areas the Commission is minded to transfer to the Hanham Ward. There was no sense of community cohesion and never has been between the Wards and each had their own distinct identity. This theme will be developed below.

Natural Boundaries

The Commissioners might be minded to consider the A4174 Ring Road as a natural boundary between Hanham and Hanham Abbots East (in the Longwell Green Ward). We refute this. Well established community links existed between the Hanham and Longwell Green areas long before the Ring Road was completed in the 1990’s. The Ring Road was constructed under the A431 and did not and does not separate the communities of Hanham Abbots parish council West Ward from Hanham Abbots East Ward, which lies to the south of the A431.

The A431 is the major transport route linking Hanham with Longwell Green through to the more rural community of Bitton leading to Bath. There is also an alternative rural road along Abbots Road linking directly to Court Farm Road in Hanham Abbots East, which lies in its entirety to the south of the A431. (photos attached)

Facilities

Residents from Hanham, Hanham Abbots and Longwell Green utilise the local shops located in Hanham or along the A431 e.g. Lidl’s and the Co-op in Hanham or Aldi in Longwell Green along with a broad range of retail outlets and services; a doctor’s surgery in Whittucks Road, not only serving the population of Hanham but Longwell Green and beyond, and two dental practices in Hanham High Street, until recently there were three. There is a dental practice in Longwell Green but it caters for predominantly private patients. The Blue Bowl public house along the A431 in Hanham has a long history dating back to the Doomsday Book and is a popular venue for residents living in the local area as it can be reached on foot.

Figures produced by South Glos show that for the last 12 month period by far the highest number of users for Hanham library came from the Hanham/Hanham Abbots area closely followed by Bitton and Oldland. Residents in the Kingswood/Woodstock area use Kingswood library.

Schools

Children in Hanham/Hanham Abbots attend either Samuel Whites Infants, Hanham Abbots or Christ Church primary schools and secondary school children from Hanham and Hanham Abbots attend Hanham Woods Academy on Memorial Road.

Youth facilities

Hanham Ward is home to the most popular youth centre in South Gloucestershire, possibly the largest in the region, regularly hosting 150 young people from 11-19 each night on five nights of the week. Attendees at the youth club come mainly from an area based around the high school, Hanham Woods Academy.

Parish Councils

The 2011 Localism Act aimed to facilitate the devolution of decision-making powers from central government control to individuals and communities. They were encouraged to prepare Parish Plans which were a vision for the future development of the area. With decision-making cascading down to the local level came additional powers whereby parish councils were encouraged to take over service delivery or to purchase additional services from the District Council, i.e. grass cutting, additional street lighting or bins.

However parish councils do not operate in isolation. Hanham and Hanham Abbots parish councils liaise closely for the benefit of local residents. For example the two parish councils have collaborated on a number of issues although only the west ward is in the Hanham District Ward. Under the Local Governance Review in 2013 the two parish councils had considered merging and as parish councils take on more and more service delivery, this may well happen in the future.

One particular area where the two parish councils have collaborated successfully is around the problems associated with challenging behaviour among some of our youth. In approx. 2011 the two councils set up in the sports hall at Hanham Woods Academy a Friday Night Project. The aim was to encourage disaffected youth in the parish councils’ area to take part in sporting activities with dedicated, professional sports’ coaches. Each parish council contributed £3,000 per annum to this project which proved very successful in dealing with any disturbances from the youth. At the same time this encouraged our young people with challenging behaviour to channel their energies into productive avenues. This project has now moved to the youth club on Hanham High Street where both parish councils continue to offer financial support.

Hanham Library Group has looked to both parish councils for funding to enable the library to remain open for a greater number of hours. The majority of users come from an area based on the A431.

Currently the two parish councils are working on a Christmas Lights competition in conjunction with Hanham Baptist Church.

We believe that these two parishes are the building blocks of the ward and that it is not good practice to split the two parish council wards between the Hanham and Longwell Green District Wards. Hanham Abbots East, we feel, should be aligned with the Hanham Ward.

Reasons not to expand northwards into the Woodstock Ward (WSC register)

We believe that further expansion into the Woodstock Ward would be detrimental to community cohesion for the residents of both Hanham and Woodstock Wards as evidenced below. The two wards are separate and distinct.

The Boundary Reviews 1998 and 2006

Para 92 of the Commission’s 1998 final report stated that “most respondents opposed the merging of the Woodstock and Hanham communities into one ward and we have been persuaded that these two areas are distinct and should maintain separate representation. Under the current arrangement Woodstock Ward serves Kingswood community south of the A420 and is perceived as ‘the heart of Kingswood’. We therefore propose no changes to Woodstock Ward with the exception of transferring 161 electors in Hollyguest Road and Kelston Grove to Hanham Ward”, the Commission recognising that this would provide a clear and identifiable boundary.

In the 2006 review the boundary between the Woodstock and Hanham wards in the Footshill Drive area was amended to transfer 500 electorate to the Hanham Ward.

However the residents of the Footshill Drive area reside in the unparished area of the ward and thus there is a disparity in service provision and we believe that they have never felt part of the Hanham community.

We recognise that communities are fluid and ever-changing but we firmly believe that the Commission’s assessments in previous reviews still apply.

Parished versus Unparished Areas

As stated above at the last electoral review Hanham Ward accepted 500 electors from the unparished area of Woodstock Ward (Footshill Drive area). Under the South Glos Community Governance Review in 2013 the residents in the unparished area were asked whether they wished to be part of the Hanham parish council. They decided against as their allegiance was focused on Kingswood.

This already presents a dilemma. The parish council can provide additional services/maintenance to benefit the whole parish or specific services which residents have lobbied for, or grants to voluntary groups in the majority of the ward as it is parished, but is unable to provide any services over and above those that are provided by the District Council to the unparished area. This leads to inequality of service provision (photos attached). This would be compounded if more than double this number of electors from the Woodstock Ward (WSC) were transferred to the Hanham Ward making effective local government for those residents difficult.

Therefore, the electors from the Footshill Drive area which were transferred into the Hanham Ward in 2006 are not served by the Hanham parish council and receive no additional services.

These residents therefore have no vehicle to make their voices heard at the local level and are, in effect, disenfranchised.

Transport links/facilities

Woodstock is to the south of Kingswood and the A420 is the focal point and main transport route between the urban areas and into Bath and Bristol. Woodstock Ward shares a common identity with Kingswood and residents would most likely walk into Kingswood, rather than Hanham, to shop at a range of diverse stores to satisfy their everyday needs and use the local facilities. Residents from Woodstock attend the Orchard Road Medical Centre just off the High Street in Kingswood or Kingswood Health Centre. In fact the area proposed to incorporate into the Hanham Ward would entail a long walk up a very steep hill if residents wanted to shop in the Hanham High Street. This alone would be a barrier.

Public Transport

Woodstock and Hanham Wards are served by separate bus services.

Woodstock/Kingswood

No. 42 – From Bristol City Centre, following the A420 to Kingswood (Cecil Road), Court Road, Cock Road, through to Cadbury Heath and Bitton. (Map attached showing bus route and roads which serve residents in the Kingswood/Woodstock Wards)

No. 43 – From Bristol City Centre, following the A420 to Kingswood, Warmley, Cadbury Heath and Bitton. (Map attached)

No. 86 – Stagecoach. This bus runs in a loop from Kingswood via Courtney Road, Westons Way, Cock Road, a very small section of Mounthill Road, Court Road, returning to Kingswood. This bus serves mostly the residents of Kingswood/Woodstock Wards.kSouthS

No. 19 – Bath to Cribbs Causeway, via Bitton, Cadbury Heath, Kigswood, Staple Hill, etc.

No. 19A – Keynsham, North Common, Kingswood, Staple Hill, etc.

No. 319 – From Bristol along the A420 to Kingswood, Woodstock Road, Cadbury Heath, Bitton where it joins with the A431 for Bath.

Hanham

No. 44 – From Bristol City Centre its route follows the A431 stopping at Memorial Road, Hanham Common, Whittucks Road, terminating at Cadbury Heath.

No. 45 – From Bristol City Centre its route follows the A431 directly to Hanham, Longwell Green and Bitton.

No. 37 – Bristol to Bath along the A431, through Hanham, Longwell Green, Bitton continuing to Bath.

No. 17 - This bus commences at Keynsham, terminating at Southmead Hospital. Its route is along Longwell Green, Hanham Common to Kingswood and beyond.

This illustrates that bus services on the whole cater for different communities. Residents from Woodstock Ward would use the bus services based on the A420 and residents in the Hanham Ward would use the services along the A431.

Schools

Unlike Hanham children, Woodstock children attend the primary schools at either Beacon Rise or Courtney Road and King’s Oak Academy for secondary pupils.

Leisure

Kingswood Community Centre provides a range of vocational activities for young and old in the Woodstock area. Hanham and Longwell Green residents use the Folk Centre in Hanham in the High Street or Longwell Green Community Centre along the A431, where a range of activities suitable for all age groups and disabilities are on offer, or the Methodist and Baptist Churches in Hanham where again a range of activities are on offer. Residents who do not drive or have access to a car will look to a convenient bus route and this would be the A431 in Hanham/Longwell Green and the A420 in Kingswood/Woodstock.

Housing

The demographics and housing in Woodstock are in stark contrast to Hanham. Woodstock and Kingswood have different types of housing to that of Hanham and a different focus for their community identity. (photos attached)

Kingswood is designated a Priority Area of the District (an area of deprivation needing specialist support and generally located within the urban wards). It has higher unemployment than in other parts of the district, poor educational attainment, health inequalities and high crime rates. It is one of six areas in South Glos which in the National Multiple indices is an area identified in the lowest 20% deprivation.

South Glos council pours considerable funds and resources into each of these areas, around £26,000 year on year, to allocate to professional and voluntary staff to tackle the problems encountered in these Priority Neighbourhoods. We would stress that this help is only available to areas designated Priority Areas.

As such Hanham Ward does not come under this category and this raises issues of equality for residents who are currently living in the PA’s if they are transferred to another Ward and lose that specific, much needed, help.

This loss of funding together with the fact that Woodstock Ward is unparished and therefore residents would not be eligible for enhanced services provided by the parish council would result in an inequality of service for those electors transferred to Hanham.

Clearly the needs of the Woodstock and Hanham Wards are very different.

Community Engagement Groups

Until recently South Gloucestershire Council had five Area Forums at which residents in that particular area could go along and have their say on any issue of concern in their locality. These Forums were divided up into:-

The Chase Kings Forest Southern Brooks Frome Vale Severn Vale

Hanham was part of the Kings Forest Forum which included Wards along the A431, Emerson’s Green and through to the rural areas of Pucklechurch and Marshfield.

The Chase Forum served the urban communities of Kingswood and Woodstock.

Responsibilities included distributing small amounts of money to local transport priorities within their Forum area, allocating grants to voluntary groups within their area, providing a consultation vehicle for the district council and latterly distributing monies from a Positive Activities Subsidy grants programme and the New Homes Bonus grant allocations.

As Woodstock Ward is unparished its residents at least had a voice at the Area Forums. Incorporating a further unparished area into the Hanham Ward would see these residents having less opportunity to air their opinions, e.g. on controversial planning applications which involve large housing developments or supermarkets. We have already stated that these residents were consulted in 2013 on becoming a parished area and declined.

To reiterate that by transferring 1,000 electorate, along with the 500 which were transferred in 2006 from the Woodstock Ward, would in effect disenfranchise these residents because they would have no say in what the parish council provided and would not be the beneficiaries of those services.

Safer Stronger Community Groups

These groups were based around the Neighbourhood Police Beat. Hanham and Longwell Green were linked together which is recognition of strong community ties between the two areas.

Woodstock Ward came under the auspices of the Kingswood Police Beat and comprised different personnel and priorities to other Beat Teams. This Police Beat Team covered a Priority Area.

These groups have now been replaced by Community Engagement Forums with the aims of promoting pride in the local area, reducing crime and identifying community aspirations and initiatives, needs and local priorities.

There are fourteen groups. Hanham and Longwell Green form one. Woodstock and Kingswood form another.

Summary

We believe that incorporating the East Ward of Hanham Abbots parish council (LGA) into the Hanham District Ward, would better reflect the identity and interests of the local community and would be a much better option that taking electorate from the Woodstock Ward if Hanham is to remain a three Member Ward. This equates to approx.. 1,843 electors.

There are no natural ties or links between the wards of Hanham and Woodstock. Historically the Hanham Ward, when enlarged, has always taken in electorate from Hanham Abbots where residents feel a better sense of belonging. Woodstock residents identify with Kingswood town centre for shopping, healthcare, community centre and library and have no connection with Hanham. . Equality of representation will lead to inequality of service provision e.g. parish versus unparished area, and break the bonds which residents have formed over the years with a particular area. Residents’ sense of belonging, natural ties and community spirit cannot simply be achieved by drawing a line on a map.

It would be better, in our opinion, if Hanham became a two Member Ward rather than combining electorate from two such disparate Wards.

We would support the following options:-

1. The original proposal as submitted by the Conservative Group. 2. Making Longwell Green a one Member Ward by transferring the electorate of Hanham Abbots East Ward (LGA) of the parish council into the Hanham District Ward.

We would urge the Commission to consider the above when determining the new Ward boundaries.

June Bamford ) Heather Goddard ) Hanham Ward District Cllrs John Goddard )