Electoral review of Salford City Council Response to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s consultation on Warding Patterns August 2018 1 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Salford in 2018 has changed dramatically since the city’s previous electoral review of 2002. Salford has seen a turnaround in its fortunes over recent years, reversing decades of population decline and securing high levels of investment. The city is now delivering high levels of growth, in both new housing and new jobs, and is helping to drive forward both Salford’s and the Greater Manchester economies. 1.2 The election of the Greater Manchester Mayor and increased devolution of responsibilities to Greater Manchester, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, is fundamentally changing the way Salford City Council works in areas of economic development, transport, work and skills, planning, policing and more recently health and social care. 1.3 Salford’s directly elected City Mayor has galvanised the city around eight core priorities – the Great Eight. Delivering against these core priorities will require the sustained commitment and partnership between councillors, partners in the private, public, community and voluntary and social enterprise sectors, and the city’s residents. This is even more the case in the light of ongoing national policy changes, the impending departure of the UK from the EU, and continued austerity in funding for vital local services. The city’s councillors will have an absolutely central role in delivering against these core priorities, working with all our partners and residents to harness the energies and talents of all of the city. 1.4 The warding patterns proposed in this submission will form important democratic building blocks for the future delivery of this approach. Delivering Salford’s priorities relies on ward boundaries which reflect the communities they serve, bringing partners and communities with common interests and identities within clearly recognised geographical boundaries. The current review of Salford’s electoral arrangements provides a timely opportunity to revisit arrangements for the effective administration of local government and public services across the city of Salford. 1.5 Full details of the proposals for each of the wards is set out in this submission. All proposed warding patterns adhere to the statutory criteria governing electoral reviews. The city’s growth over the last sixteen years is concentrated into central and east Salford and therefore the most significant changes to ward boundaries are in this area. However, the scheme proposed in this submission includes some element of change to boundaries in 19 of the Council’s 20 wards. 1.6 The proposed boundaries, in this submission, respect the recognised geographical ‘framework’ provided by the city’s natural and man-made physical alignments. At the same time, warding patterns seek to capture the characteristics of Salford’s established and emerging communities whilst reflecting the important role these boundaries will play in supporting the delivery of reforms to public service delivery from 2020 onwards. 2 Central locality The central locality is adjacent to Manchester city centre and to Trafford City Council area. This area of Salford, more than any other, is experiencing a period of considerable transformation and growth, which has triggered the need to review ward boundaries across the city. There are currently seven wards in this part of the city. Reflecting the forecast population growth it is proposed under the new scheme that this is increased to eight. North locality This area is bounded to the north by the city’s boundary with Bury and Bolton, to the west by the intersection of the M60 / M61 motorway network and by the intermediate local A6 road, which provides a boundary with the west locality. There are currently three wards within this locality and it is proposed that the new scheme will also have three wards. South locality The far west of this locality marks the city’s border with Warrington and Wigan to the West, and Trafford to the South. The M602/M62 provides a natural boundary with the west locality. There are currently five wards in this locality and it is proposed under the new scheme that this will reduce to four wards. West locality This area is bounded by the city’s borders with Wigan and Bolton. The area has several major road networks, including the M60, M602, and several key local roads that define the physical geography. The area is also characterised by large areas of open and green spaces, including Chat Moss, which is the largest area of open land in the city. The combination of these natural and physical features creates a boundary between these areas and the south, north and central parts of the city. There are currently five wards within this locality and it is proposed that the new scheme will also have five wards. 3 2 Background 2.1 The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) review of Salford’s council size started in 2018, with all out elections due to take place in 2020. 2.2 The review was initially triggered due to the number of wards with electoral imbalances across the city (defined as a variance of more than 10% from the average ward electorate based on the 2016 Electoral Register) and therefore an unfair representation at local government elections. In five of the 20 wards, the size of the electorate had a variance greater than 10% compared to the average. The greatest imbalance was seen in the Ordsall ward, which had a variance of 33% above the average size and this variance has further increased during the review process. 2.3 Following the conclusion of the first part of the Review in June 2018, the LGBCE confirmed that it is minded to recommend that the Council should continue to have 60 Councillors. Given that, where an authority elects by thirds the LGBCE usually aim to agree a pattern of three Councillors per ward, this will result in the Council retaining 20 wards. 2.4 The second stage of the electoral review began on 26 June when the LGBCE opened its consultation on warding patterns. The Commission has three main criteria which it must follow when it produces a new pattern of wards or electoral divisions. The criteria are: The new pattern of wards should mean that each councillor represents roughly the same number of voters as elected members elsewhere in the authority to secure equality of representation. Ward patterns should – as far as possible – reflect community interests and identities and boundaries should be identifiable. The electoral arrangements should promote effective and convenient local government and reflect the electoral cycle of the council. 2.5 This submission is Salford City Council’s response to the LGBCE’s consultation and seeks to provide a full scheme which meets the statutory criteria. 3 Salford Now 3.1 The city of Salford is located at the heart of the metropolitan area that runs across the southern part of the North West Region of England. It lies on the western side of Greater Manchester, sharing boundaries with Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Trafford, Warrington and Wigan. 4 3.2 The city centre, Salford Quays, and some adjoining areas have experienced significant growth and investment in recent years and provide a major concentration of employment, retail, leisure, tourism and cultural opportunities. However, some of the inner neighbourhoods surrounding the city centre are characterised by high levels of deprivation, and contribute towards Salford being identified as the 16th most deprived local authority in England1. These areas form part of a much wider concentration of deprivation at the heart of the conurbation which extends into Manchester and Trafford. 3.3 The River Irwell is a distinctive landscape feature running through this eastern part of the city, and it results in some of the most accessible, economically important and socially deprived areas being at significant risk of flooding. The city is also bound and traversed by the M60, M61, M62, and M602 motorways plus the A580 East Lancashire Road (that becomes the A6). These major arterial routes provide access to the city’s growing economic base, and act as access points into, out of and around the city. These and other key local road networks can also act as barriers to communities and the way they interact. 3.4 The rest of the city is generally much more suburban in character. It includes some of Greater Manchester’s most affluent residential areas in Worsley, Boothstown and Ellesmere Park, and fulfil an important economic function with some of the city’s best performing employment areas such as Agecroft and Northbank. There are however concentrations of deprivation in some of the city’s wards and neighbourhoods which share similar socio-economic challenges as large parts of the centre of the conurbation. 3.5 In recent years, Salford has seen a substantial amount of investment in new homes, businesses, infrastructure and the public realm. The delivery of major projects such as MediaCityUK, Greengate, Port Salford and the AJ Bell Stadium, and the revitalisation of road and riverside corridors, has transformed large areas of the city and had a significant impact on the city’s economy and profile. Salford is yet to reach its full potential and we are already seeing an increasing number of people choosing the city as a place to live, work, invest and visit. 1 The English Indices of Deprivation 2015: Results for the North West – New Economy October 2015 5 3.6 Salford’s last council size review was in 2002 – and in the fourteen years to 2016 the city’s population has grown significantly. The number of people living in the city increased from 216,100 to 248,100 over that time period – a growth of 14.8%, and the largest population in the city since the 1970’s.