Draft Recommendations on the Future Electoral Arrangements for Newark & Sherwood in Nottinghamshire
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Draft recommendations on the future electoral arrangements for Newark & Sherwood in Nottinghamshire Further electoral review December 2005 Translations and other formats For information on obtaining this publication in another language or in a large-print or Braille version please contact The Boundary Committee for England: Tel: 020 7271 0500 Email: [email protected] The mapping in this report is reproduced from OS mapping by The Electoral Commission with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence Number: GD 03114G 2 Contents Page What is The Boundary Committee for England? 5 Executive summary 7 1 Introduction 15 2 Current electoral arrangements 19 3 Submissions received 23 4 Analysis and draft recommendations 25 Electorate figures 26 Council size 26 Electoral equality 27 General analysis 28 Warding arrangements 28 a Clipstone, Edwinstowe and Ollerton wards 29 b Bilsthorpe, Blidworth, Farnsfield and Rainworth wards 30 c Boughton, Caunton and Sutton-on-Trent wards 32 d Collingham & Meering, Muskham and Winthorpe wards 32 e Newark-on-Trent (five wards) 33 f Southwell town (three wards) 35 g Balderton North, Balderton West and Farndon wards 36 h Lowdham and Trent wards 38 Conclusions 39 Parish electoral arrangements 39 5 What happens next? 43 6 Mapping 45 Appendices A Glossary and abbreviations 47 B Code of practice on written consultation 51 3 4 What is The Boundary Committee for England? The Boundary Committee for England is a committee of The Electoral Commission, an independent body set up by Parliament under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It is responsible for conducting reviews as directed by The Electoral Commission or the Secretary of State. Members of the Committee are: Pamela Gordon (Chair) Robin Gray Joan Jones CBE Ann M. Kelly Professor Colin Mellors Archie Gall (Director) When conducting reviews our aim is to ensure that the number of electors represented by each councillor in an area is as nearly as possible the same, taking into account local circumstances. We can recommend changes to ward boundaries, the number of councillors and ward names. We can also recommend changes to the electoral arrangements of parish and town councils. 5 6 Executive summary The Boundary Committee for England is the body responsible for conducting electoral reviews of local authorities. A Further Electoral Review of Newark & Sherwood is being undertaken to provide improved levels of electoral equality across the district. This review aims to ensure that the number of voters represented by each district councillor is approximately the same. As a result of the poor levels of electoral inequality that existed in 2004, The Electoral Commission directed The Boundary Committee to undertake an electoral review of Newark & Sherwood district on 10 February 2005. Current electoral arrangements Under the existing arrangements, nine wards currently have electoral variances of more than 10% from the district average. Development forecast for the five-year period that occurred between 1999 and 2004 during the last review was largely not realised. In Balderton North ward more development was undertaken than expected, which has resulted in its having a particularly poor variance, with 16% more electors than the district average. Every review is conducted in four stages: Stage Stage starts Description One 17 May 2005 Submission of proposals to us Two 9 August 2005 Our analysis and deliberation Three 6 December 2005 Publication of draft recommendations and consultation on them Four 7 March 2006 Analysis of submissions received and formulation of final recommendations Submissions received During Stage One we received 34 submissions which were relevant to this review. The District Council proposed a district-wide scheme based on the existing council size. However, we could not officially consider the District Council’s submission as it was received after the official deadline. Therefore we could only consider it as information to assist us in making our draft recommendations. Analysis and draft recommendations Electorate figures The electorate of Newark & Sherwood is forecast to increase by approximately 5% by 2009. The main area of growth is expected to be in Farndon ward. Additionally, significant growth is anticipated in the wards of Beacon, Castle, Clipstone and Ollerton. General growth is expected across the remainder of the district. During Stage One the Council amended its figures twice. During Stage Two the Council provided updated forecast figures for six wards. We are content that the Council’s revised figures represent the best estimates currently available. 7 Council size During Stage One we received one submission relating to council size from the District Council, which was to retain the existing council size of 46 members. We received two submissions supporting this proposal. As part of our recommendations we propose to retain the council size of 46 members. General analysis We are proposing recommendations largely based on the District Council’s information. In the rural areas surrounding the urban settlements of Newark town and Balderton, and in the north of the district, we have proposed wards that the council had considered when forming proposals but which it did not formally submit to us. In the west of the district we have made some amendments to the Council’s proposals to improve the level of electoral equality in the area. What happens next? There will now be a consultation period, during which we encourage comment on our draft recommendations on future electoral arrangements for Newark & Sherwood contained in the report. We welcome views from all parts of the community and believe that the more feedback we receive, based on clear evidence, the better informed we will be in forming our final recommendations. We will take into account all submissions received by 6 March 2006. Any received after this date will not be taken into account. We have not finalised our conclusions on the electoral arrangements for Newark & Sherwood and welcome comments from interested parties. In particular, we found our decisions regarding Southwell town to be a difficult judgement between our statutory criteria. We would particularly welcome local views, backed up by demonstrable evidence, during Stage Three. We will consider all the evidence submitted to us during the consultation period before preparing our final recommendations. Express your views by writing directly to us: Review Manager Newark & Sherwood Review The Boundary Committee for England Trevelyan House Great Peter Street London SW1P 2HW [email protected] This report is available to download at www.boundarycommittee.org.uk. 8 Table 1: Draft recommendations: Summary Ward name Number of Constituent areas councillors 1 Balderton North 2 The proposed Balderton North parish ward of Balderton parish 2 Balderton West 2 The proposed Balderton West parish ward of Balderton parish 3 Beacon 3 The proposed Beacon parish ward of Newark parish and the proposed Coddington West parish ward of Coddington parish 4 Blidworth 2 The parishes of Blidworth, Lindhurst and Oxton 5 Boughton 2 The parishes of Kirton and Walesby; Boughton parish ward of Ollerton & Boughton parish 6 Bridge 2 The proposed Bridge parish ward of Newark parish 7 Castle 2 The proposed Castle parish ward of Newark parish 8 Caunton 1 The parishes of Caunton, Egmanton, Hockerton, Kersall, Kneesall, Laxton & Moorhouse, Maplebeck, Ompton, Ossington, Wellow and Winkburn 9 Clipstone 2 The parish of Clipstone 10 Collingham & 2 The parishes of Besthorpe, Collingham, Meering Girton, Harby, Meering, North Clifton, South Clifton, South Scarle, Spalford, Thorney and Wigsley 11 Devon 2 The proposed Devon parish ward of Newark parish 12 Edwinstowe 2 The parish of Edwinstowe 13 Farndon 2 The parishes of Alverton, Cotham, East Stoke, Elston, Farndon, Hawton, Kilvington, Staunton, Syerston and Thorpe; the proposed Balderton South parish ward of Balderton parish 14 Farnsfield & 3 The parishes of Bilsthorpe, Eakring, Edingley, Bilsthorpe Farnsfield, Halam and Kirklington 15 Lowdham 2 The parishes of Bulcote, Caythorpe, Epperstone, Gonalston, Gunthorpe, Hoveringham and Lowdham 16 Magnus 2 The proposed Magnus parish ward of Newark parish 17 Muskham 1 The parishes of Averham, Bathley, Cromwell, Kelham, North Muskham, South Muskham and Staythorpe 9 Table 1: Draft recommendations: Summary (continued) Ward name Number of Constituent district areas councillors 18 Ollerton 3 The parish of Perlethorpe cum Budby; North and South parish wards of Ollerton & Boughton parish 19 Rainworth 3 The parishes of Rainworth and Rufford 20 Southwell East 1 The parish of Upton; the proposed Southwell East parish ward of Southwell parish 21 Southwell North 1 The proposed Southwell North parish ward of Southwell parish 22 Southwell West 1 The parish of Halloughton; Southwell West parish ward of Southwell parish 23 Sutton-on-Trent 1 The parishes of Carlton-on-Trent, Grassthorpe, Norwell, Sutton-on-Trent and Weston 24 Trent 1 The parishes of Bleasby, Fiskerton cum Morton, Rolleston and Thurgarton 25 Winthorpe 1 The parishes of Barnby in the Willows, Holme, Langford and Winthorpe and the proposed Coddington East parish ward of Coddington parish Notes: 1. The whole district is parished. 2. The maps accompanying this report illustrate the proposed wards outlined above. 3. We