Local resident submissions to the electoral review

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Peter Alexander

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As a resident of Abbey Farm Estate North I find that being included in the ward to be frustrating. Councilors for this ward concentrate their effors on Newburn & areas. The estate has more in common with that of with the majority of primary children attending school either in Westerhope or denton wards and high school children bussing out to Ponteland schools. Most of our services eg doctors etc are based in the Westerhope & Denton ward. We recive more information on council affairs from the Westerhope independant councilors than we do from our own. The A69 seens to act as a barrier to our current councilors (who only appear north of it when there is an election). It would make more sense for this area to be part of the Westerhope ward where we could be trully represented

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7019 27/01/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1

Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Jane Armstrong

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I feel that the addresses in Chapel House who are currently included in the Denton ward should be removed as part of this boundary change and included in the Westerhope ward. The current Denton ward is too large and difficult to administer. The residents in Chapel House are disenfranchised as the majority of the funding, initiatives and projects are aimed at the residents of West Denton particularly in social housing, and who make up the majority of the ward. The Westerhope ward includes the private housing in the remainder of Chapel House and Chapel Park and I feel that we would be better represented if we were included in this ward.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7135 04/02/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1

Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Carole Askew

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Comment text:

I understand that there is a proposal to exclude Victoria Square from South and I would like to object; the central motorway, which should never have gone through Jesmond in the first place , seems a little too convenient for a new boundary. .

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7866 31/03/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1

Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Beverley Bagnall

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Comment text:

The Council's latest suggested ward boundary revisions affecting East , Jesmond, Dene and Heaton Wards (area C), soon to be submitted to you, yoke together communities with little in common. The interests and identities of local communities are said to be one of your guiding principles and overriding them will make the promotion of effective local government more difficult for both electors and councillors. It is more important than achieving parity of numbers. The forms the strongest possible boundary, not a link between east and west, and should be seen as such. The East Gosforth social links are with the rest of Gosforth and north Jesmond and this should be reflected in the boundary changes.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7900 14/04/2016

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: George Bore

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Comment text:

Blakelaw Ward should incorporate Cowgate so both sides of Ponteland Road are within the ward boundary. This would make sense from a community perspective.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7326 11/02/2016

I suggest that the Option 1 for Area C would also, retain the councillors that actually care about the area, and would make more sense.

Gloria Brown (Mrs)

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: KAREN Cardwell

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Comment text:

Split up the kenton ward using geographical boundaries (which should also accommodate issues of spreading population fairly for councillors) IE 1.section to the north of kenton lane, closest to flaw don to join that ward. 2. Section to south of kenton lane, to the west of Nuns Moor, join ward which it is closest to geographically (as well as house prices etc) 3. Section to south of kenton lane but east of Nuns Moor to join West Gosforth which it is closest to geographically. Also some houses in this section are closer to the value of some semi-detached houses in west Gosforth and it should result in a fairer sharing of councillors per head of population. The Montagu Estate should not be joined with Blakelaw ward as the former has a greater mix of economic backgrounds and such a 'joining' would drastically reduce the value of house prices on Montagu Estate.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7228 04/02/2016

DENE WARD BOUNDARIES ‐ OBJECTION

I am appalled to hear that the boundary commission consultation period ends tomorrow and that at the last minute some boundary changes have been mooted. That there have been proposed changes is bad enough but to hear that neither the residents involved nor the area representatives for Dene Ward were not told until a couple of days ago, is unbelievable.

Public consultation means just that!

I attended the Dene ward meeting at the beginning of March where councillors talked about a part of Gosforth being a part of the Ward in future. I can understand that addition. I just cannot understand including and excluding Benton Lodge Estate. It makes no sense at all!

As the councillors have said when discussing the changes that certain areas make sense to be in the same ward, they represent distinct communities, we have been part of this ward for years. I attend every ward meeting and know and respect our 3 Liberal Democrat councillors who work hard on our behalf on local issues.

I have personally delivered their newsletters in this area for over 20 years. I am horrified that the residents and local councillors were not told in time for more people to make their views known.

We should not have to rely on second hand information when the proposal directly affects our immediate area.

In light of this, the consultation process should be extended to give all concerned a voice, surely.

After all our last ward meeting was only three weeks ago and no mention was made of this proposed change.

I hope that you may reconsider the boundaries to keep the Benton Lodge Estate in the Dene Ward area.

Lynda Davison (Mrs)

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Charles Fair

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I am in favour of reducing the number of councillors and increasing the Ward sizes - in this, the age of the internet, information technology and improved communication systems it is easier for the public to contact their local councillors. There is no need for smaller Wards.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7129 04/02/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 2

Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Stephen Fairlie

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Submission to the Boundary Commission Re: Newcastle upon Tyne Having studied Newcastle City Council’s submission, stating their preferred options for the new warding pattern I have identified a number of problems. This boundary review has come at a difficult time as we are entering a period of population expansion and redistribution with many large housing developments due to be realised in the next few years, especially in the north and west of the city. My main concerns are with the Outer West of the city as that is where I live and represent. They involve the wards of and Scotswood, and the new proposed ward 6, “Outer West Villages”. (Ward 21) The proposals would see this ward with a forecast electorate of +8% above the mean by 2021. I think this is ill advised as by then, the major regeneration and housing development in Scotswood, that has only just started, will only be partially complete. It is expected that around100 new homes will be delivered annually over a period of approximately 15 years. I believe the first houses to be completed are proving popular and there is every reason to expect the scheme to proceed to schedule. Very soon after 2021 the 10% tolerance would be exceeded triggering another boundary review. The failure to future proof this ward against expected population growth is a serious flaw in the plans. Lemington (Ward 1) Lemington has the reverse problem in that it represents a tightly defined community, with its own identity, but it must enlarge to increase its electorate. It is expected that housing proposed for the Newburn Haugh site will not be delivered until the late 2020s at the earliest. Instead it is proposed to take two villages from the current Newburn ward to enlarge. While the residents of Blucher Village might accept becoming part of Lemington the residents of Walbottle would definitely not. The breaking up of the current Newburn ward in this way is especially contentious. Even taking this option, the new ward 1 would still be 1% below the mean electorate. Another solution needs to be found. The boundary between ward 21, traditionally seen as inner west and ward 1, forming the beginning of the outer west has been taken as the A1 western bypass. This is a relatively modern addition having only opened some 25 years ago. The housing either side of the A1 was mostly built many decades before the A1 itself and developed community links before the A1 was built. I would argue that the A1 is not a natural division between these communities. The more traditional boundary that marks the start of the outer west is the A191 Denton Road, or more correctly, the (now culverted) that flows a few yards west of Denton road through a strip known as Denton Dene. This should be the boundary between wards 21 and 1. Outer West Villages (Ward 6) The proposed ward 6 is unworkable and would be very difficult to represent as it puts together communities that have had no previous common link yet breaks up others that have been closely associated for centuries. The proposed ward 6 also infringes the guidelines in that it is not contiguous, that is the road network makes it impossible to travel between the various villages without leaving the ward and passing through other communities that are not part of the ward. The three villages of Newburn, Throckley and Walbottle have a common heritage dating back several hundred years to a time when they were the only significant habitation for miles around. Splitting off Walbottle Vilage makes no sense. Newburn, Throckley and Walbottle must be kept together as the heart of a new ward 6. In contrast, the housing estates at the separate community of North Walbottle (CA82, CA148) are fairly recent with their residents strongly identifying with Chapel House. Creating a new “Chapel” ward, including North Walbottle, would generally be welcomed here. This new Chapel

https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7904 14/04/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 2 of 2

ward is forecast to have -6% below the mean electorate to allow for imminent growth from new housing developments in the Callerton area. It could easily also absorb areas from the northern part of the proposed ward 6. Alternative Proposals Move Broadwood Estate, identified as community CA98 with 908 voters, from Benwell and Scotswood to Lemington. This will reduce the electorate in ward 21 to allow for imminent expansion while adding to ward 1, to help meet its need to enlarge. This will result in more evenly sized wards. Walbottle Village, CA84 with 606 voters could then be included in ward 6, Outer west Villages where it traditionally belongs. The increase in voters in ward 6 would still be within acceptable tolerances but could be compensated further if consideration was given to relocating some small settlements in the north of Ward 6 to neighbouring wards, such as Chapel, with which they have a much closer affiliation. (Dr ) Stephen Fairlie

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7904 14/04/2016

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Linda Gordon

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We would like to register our objections to Benton Lodge Avenue being moved out of Dene ward. It would seem to be an irrational move. Ray and Linda Gordon.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7937 14/04/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1

Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: John Healy

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There are areas of Jesmond that fall under East Gosforth Electoral Ward, which also have a NE2 3.. "Jesmond" Postcode. It seems confusing that High West Jesmond falls under East Gosforth Ward when it would seem natural for it to form part of North Jesmond Ward. Obviously the demographic in both areas are very similar similar however I feel that this would give High West Jesmond area a better sense of identity.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7224 04/02/2016 Owen, David

From: Hillicks, Pat (Cllr) Sent: Friday, March 25, 2016 5:39 PM To: Owen, David Subject: Boundary Review, Newcastle upon Tyne

Dear Mr Owen

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE BOUNDARY REVIEW 2016

The area of Newcastle I would like to comment on is the area which is presently covered by Westerhope Ward, Denton Ward, and parts of and Newburn Wards.

At the Constitutional Meeting of the Council held on 22 March 2016, it was decided that the preferred option for this area would be a WEST/EAST split and I would like to support this decision. This would result in two ‘new’ wards with suggested names of CHAPEL WARD and WESTERHOPE AND DENTON WARD.

CHAPEL WARD

The boundary for this ward is Stamfordham Road to the north, North Walbottle Road to the west, the A69 to the south, and to the east, Hillhead Road. This gives a very compact ward.

When was originally built in the early 1960s it was designed as a village and included two churches - St John Vianney Roman Catholic Church and The Holy Nativity Church, local schools, other amenities including shops, two medical practices and two public houses. Great care was put into the design so that the amenities were in the centre of the estate. Chapel House was not planned in isolation as the developer at that time was planning to create Chapel Park and St Johns, both of which were built almost as extensions to Chapel House.

The street names in Chapel House began with the first part of the alphabet (Abbotside Place, Bracknell Gardens, Cayton Grove, Dover Close, Eden Close, Frenton Close for examples) and continued in Chapel Park from ‘G’ – Gardner Close right through to Ladybank. The ‘Ms’ are in St John’s – Magenta Crescent for example and the ‘Ns’ are in The Boltons. This use of the alphabet for street names confirms that the whole area was built to be a single community.

A community centre in Chapel House was built by Bellways after fund-raising by local residents and this was called Chapel House and District Community Association (CHADCA) – which again implies that the whole district is a community with Chapel House as its core.

Later Abbey Grange and Abbey Farm were built - the residents of these estates use the services designed in Chapel House in the 1960s, creating a larger community that is self-sufficient and providing all the facilities necessary for the residents. The vicarage of the Church of the Holy Nativity, Chapel House is actually in Abbey Farm. St Johns, Abbey Grange, Abbey Farm, the Boltons and Northumberland Gardens have no amenities of their own. The hub of the community lies within Chapel House and most recently the facilities have been updated to ensure that they are as relevant and current today as they were when the Chapel House was first built. By calling these two last two estates ‘Abbey’ the ecclesiastical connection was maintained.

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Richard Jewers

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Leave Castle Ward as it is. It is well formed with a central focus of activity at . Major roads provide obvious boundaries.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7897 31/03/2016

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edge. In the case of the second reduced option, it would seem sensible for the Woolsington ward to then encompass the remaining similarly rural northern part of the existing Castle ward including the parishes of Dinnington village, Brunswick and Hazelrigg, as well as possibly the Callerton area to the south-west.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7102 29/01/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1

Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Anne McLeish

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The Civic Centre's in Jesmond! I don't think so!

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7066 28/01/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1

Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: ROBERT MEE

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The projected number of residents in the Ouseburn ward needs reviewing. The projection is based on new-build that has not happened or even been commenced.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7281 04/02/2016

Owen, David

From: Mayers, Mishka on behalf of reviews Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 8:03 AM To: Owen, David Subject: FW: Ward Boundary Changes Newcastle Upon Tyne

From: Bob Morgan Sent: 27 March 2016 16:26 To: reviews Subject: Ward Boundary Changes Newcastle Upon Tyne

27th March 2016,

Dear Boundary Commissioners,

Westerhope/Chapel Wards, Newcastle upon Tyne

We write in support of the Council’s recommended submission for boundary changes within Newcastle, where the existing Westerhope Ward is, with some changes, divided into two wards, Westerhope and a new ward of Chapel.

Our area, North Walbottle, includes the older development of Northumberland Gardens/Coronation Road, as well as the modern estates of The Boltons, Abbey Grange and Abbey Farm, and was formerly part of Westerhope Ward. At that time our services and our representation fell mainly within the same boundary.

With the last boundary changes North Walbottle was moved into Newburn ward. This meant that our amenities and our councillors’ remit lay within different wards. This has been detrimental to our access to efficient representation. We would, therefore, very much welcome a return to the fold of the new Chapel Ward where we would be sharing facilities and councillors with our logical neighbours.

With thanks for your consideration of this request,

Yours truly,

Eve and Bob Morgan

Boundary Commissioners Local Government Boundary Commission for England

1 14th Floor, Millbank Tower SW1P 4QP

([email protected])

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: David Pennycuick

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There is no sound case for retaining 78 councillors, given the cuts to local government budgets. These cuts should apply to councillors just as much as to everyone else. I think the decision to retain 78 is quite wrong, and that this should be revisited before any consideration of boundaries is made.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7238 04/02/2016

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Newcastle upon Tyne District

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Name: Randhir Puri

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There are far too many councillors for such a small population, and most are either simpletons who lack the skills to represent the population or political figures with a narrow agenda. We need to reduce the number of councillors by a third to ensure appropriate representation.most councillors do little other than vote according to party agendas.

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https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7065 28/01/2016 Owen, David

From: Fuller, Heather Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2016 8:51 AM To: Owen, David Subject: FW: Ward Boundary Review Consultation - Newcastle upon Tyne

Heather Fuller Review Assistant LGBCE 0330 500 1252

From: Daniel Warnock Sent: 30 March 2016 22:58 To: reviews Subject: Ward Boundary Review Consultation ‐ Newcastle upon Tyne

Dear Sirs

I am emailing you as part of the consultation over the boundary changes to Castle Ward in Newcastle upon Tyne.

It has come to my attention that a proposal has been made by Newcastle City Council that Castle Ward be split into two separate wards – Castle Ward and Cheviot View.

This would, in my view, have a detrimental impact on the long-established community of Kingston Park, which lies entirely within Castle Ward.

Kingston Park residents have recently voted to establish a Neighbourhood Forum, which has just received approval from the City Council, and is in the process of establishing a Neighbourhood Plan to aid in the ongoing development and improvement of the community. The aim of this is to empower the residents of the community to improve their locality in ways that the City Council is unable or unwilling to do unilaterally. By splitting this community in two, it undermines the work done to date on the Forum and jeopardises any future development, as well as permanently damaging a community that is working together at a grassroots level to deliver much needed improvement to our area.

In addition, the residents that would find themselves in the proposed Cheviot View ward would be combined with Newbiggin Hall – a geographically distant area that shares no facilities or culture with Kingston Park, while having its own needs and requirements. Forcing these two areas will result in an community in name only that does not work even from a governance perspective, let alone from a grass-roots one.

The City Council’s proposals have been ill-considered in my opinion, having been driven by the dissatisfaction of residents in other wards rather than the views of Kingston Park residents, and should be appraised as such.

Again, I would urge you to reject these proposals and consider another solution that does not damage the community that is growing together in Kingston Park, Castle Ward.

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2 Owen, David

From: Mayers, Mishka on behalf of reviews Sent: Tuesday, April 5, 2016 10:45 AM To: Owen, David Subject: FW: Objection to Newburn Ward changes

From: Hayley Wright Sent: 03 April 2016 20:42 To: reviews Subject: Objection to Newburn Ward changes

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to object to Newcastle City Councils proposal to Annexe Walbottle from Newburn Ward, creating an Outer West Ward and leading to the loss of Newburn Ward, taking away the identity we've always had.

I believe NCC has been short sighted and only looked to the West of Lemington, to Newburn Ward to enlarge Lemington Ward when there is much more scope when looking at the boundaries.

The Broadwood Estate currently within the Scotswood/Benwell ward could quite easily be moved into Lemington Ward. The removal of this estate would allow Scotswood/Benwell to accomodate the development of the planned new housing, which has an approximate growth of 100 new houses per year and therefore without triggering a further boundary review in the coming 5 years.

The A1 is not a longstanding boundary as the road is a fairly recent development unlike Throckley, Newburn and Walbottle who have a history of close community connections over the last two ‐ three hundred years. It is bound together by tradition ‐ coal mining, family relations across the villages and supported by Walbottles high school and strong links to the Methodist churches, which at one time there was 1 in all 3 villages ‐ and were part of the same circut. The 'dilly line' servicing the mines and quarries ran from Walbottle to Throckley passing throughout Newburn village. The residents are linked together by community and heritage, please don't split this up now.

Many thanks, Hayley

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