Local Residents A-L Submissions to the London Borough of Southwark Council Electoral Review
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Local Residents A-L submissions to the London Borough of Southwark Council electoral review This PDF document contains submissions from local residents A-L Some versions of Adobe allow the viewer to move quickly between bookmarks. Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1 Southwark London Borough Personal Details: Name: Joanne Merry E-mail: Postcode: Organisation Name: Feature Annotations 3: Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database rights 2013. Map Features: Annotation 3: Comment text: I think that the Half Moon and Dulwich Village Wards are quite similar in character. It would be appropriate for these wards to be combined and have two Councillors. The current proposal is for there to be two separate one Councillor wards. If an enlarged ward had two Councillors then it would give cover to residents if a Councillor was sick or on holiday and also the opportunity to approach the other Councillor in the event of a disagreement Uploaded Documents: None Uploaded https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7844 23/03/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 2 Southwark London Borough Personal Details: Name: Sue Badman E-mail: Postcode: Organisation Name: Comment text: I am writing on the proposals for new ward boundaries in Southwark, specifically in the area now covered by Village Ward where I live and where the proposal is that the main portion of the ward should be divided into two single-member wards, - Half Moon Ward and Dulwich Village Ward - a proposal that I would urge you to reconsider. I also have a comment about the proposed Dulwich Hill ward. I accept the shift in the balance of the population of the borough northwards means that the current situation is not sustainable, and I believe that returning to an area very similar to the old Ruskin Ward - i.e. with the portions of East Dulwich around Glengarry Road and Melbourne Road detached - represented by a total of two councillors is a good way of meeting this need while maintaining cohesive wards with a common character. However I am puzzled by the suggestion that the remaining area should be divided between two single-member wards, the only part of the borough to be treated in this way. I do not see that there are any compelling reasons to split an area that has for some time formed a single electoral division. There is a similarity of demographic factors and community feel in the area; both the area north of the railway line and those south of it are characterised by a preponderance of owner-occupied housing and a generally leafy appearance. A large part of both the Half Moon and Village wards are subject to the Dulwich Estate scheme of management and the Estate remains a major freeholder in the area. There are, I believe, major drawbacks to a single-member ward in terms of representation and administration that would only be exacerbated by Dulwich and Herne Hill being the only part of the borough so represented. It removes the choice for residents of which councillor to approach in case of issues arising in which they need to approach their elected representative. Even the best of councillors will sometimes be absent on non-council business or holiday or fall sick, and there would be a major disadvantage in the event of a death or resignation, especially in the last six months before a regular election, when I understand that casual council vacancies must by electoral law be left unfilled. Furthermore, were the sole councillor of the area to be put on the planning committee or similar, which is quasi-judicial in nature, he or she would be effectively debarred from representing local interests in the event of a contentious planning application. We would also face another democratic deficit arising from single member wards, particularly in the case of contentious applications, by not having two members in a single ward able to request a call- in. There will also be times when a councillor resides next door to a potentially contentious planning application. For the planning meeting he/she cannot act as a ward councillor to represent any other concerned residents so would need to rely on another ward councillor to do so if that were requested by residents. This couldn't happen in a single councillor ward. To sum up, I believe there is no compelling argument to single out the Dulwich and Herne Hill area for this approach, and good reasons enough to say it would be a serious mistake. I urge you to reconsider. Finally I would like to point out that the proposed ward Dulwich Hill is misnamed. That area has never been known as Dulwich Hill. There was a Dulwich Hill but this was near Sunray Avenue, towards Denmark Hill (near the current Village/South Camberwell ward boundary). Underhill Ward would be a better name for the area designated as Dulwich Hill Ward, but those who live there should perhaps be consulted. Dulwich Hill is of course also a suburb of Sydney, NSW, Australia and this is what searches on Google and social media would throw up. https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7947 13/04/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 2 of 2 Uploaded Documents: None Uploaded https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7947 13/04/2016 Ward, Lucy From: Mayers, Mishka on behalf of reviews Sent: Tuesday, 05 April, 2016 10:39 AM To: Ward, Lucy Subject: FW: Southwark local government boundary review Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged From: Bruce bell Sent: 04 April 2016 10:28 To: Subject: Southwark local government boundary review I object to the suggestion that there should be two single councillor wards (Half Moon and Dulwich Village) to replace the current three councillor ward. It gives residents no choice of councillor to work with; leaves an area completely unrepresented if an individual councillor is away or unwell, and puts considerable work load pressure and requirement to attend meetings on individual councillors. My recommendation is that Half Moon and Dulwich Village merge into one two councillor ward. The numbers work, there is more adequate representation for residents, and less governance and paperwork for the council. Bruce Bell 1 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1 Southwark London Borough Personal Details: Name: Bruce Bell E-mail: Postcode: Organisation Name: Comment text: I object to the suggestion that there should be two single councillor wards (Half Moon and Dulwich Village) to replace the current three councillor ward. It gives residents no choice of councillor to work with; leaves an area completely unrepresented if an individual councillor is away or unwell, and puts considerable work load pressure and requirement to attend meetings on individual councillors. My recommendation is that Half Moon and Dulwich Village merge into one two councillor ward. The numbers work, there is more adequate representation for residents, and less governance and paperwork for the council. Uploaded Documents: None Uploaded https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7929 13/04/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1 Southwark London Borough Personal Details: Name: R van Berckel E-mail: Postcode: Organisation Name: Comment text: I cannot understand the need for this change to a system that has worked so well for years. If one Councillor is on holiday or unwell, we have two others to help and shoulder the load. I live at one end of Burbage Road and work at the other. The Burbage Road Residents Association works for all and we share so much together, including three excellent Councillors. Why the need to change. Surely there are more pressing matters. Our Councillors have been very effective for the whole area and work for the whole community. May I suggest that the Half Moon and Dulwich Village wards join together as Village Ward. Let's keep the community together and not split it up. Uploaded Documents: None Uploaded https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7893 31/03/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1 Southwark London Borough Personal Details: Name: Edmund Bird E-mail: Postcode: Organisation Name: Comment text: I strongly object to the proposal to replace our current Village Ward where we are served by three councillors and replace it with two single councillor wards (Half Moon and Dulwich Village). The current ward structure is much more democratic and gives us a stronger voice within the Council - we are in the extreme south west of the borough and already feel very marginalised and neglected as resources are concentrated in the middle and north of Southwark. A single councillor ward would be wholly impractical, undemocratic and poorly serve our community in Dulwich. If that single councillor was for example away on holiday or unwell, our neighbourhood would be completely unrepresented. Our choice to approach a range of more than one councillor would be taken away and it would not be fair on that one council member to attend all the necessary borough council and local meetings - the workload would be far too great. I support the alternative recommendation of having a single Dulwich Village Ward (with the boundary adjustments you put forward pertaining to the area in the vicinity of North Dulwich station and Townley Road) served by two councillors. This would give us a much fairer and more workable representation for our neighbourhood. Uploaded Documents: None Uploaded https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/7846 23/03/2016 Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1 Southwark London Borough Personal Details: Name: STUART BOWDEN E-mail: Postcode: Organisation Name: Comment text: I object to the suggestion that there should be two single councillor wards (Half Moon and Dulwich Village) to replace the current three councillor ward.