Agenda item: 15

Report to: Full Council Date of Meeting: 10th February 2020 Agenda Item Parish Council Elections May 2020

Please see details from the Elections Officer. The nomination papers for Kingswood will be delayed until 2nd March 2020.

Extract of email from Election Officer 2nd March 2020 Good afternoon, I am writing to give you an update on the Community Governance Review and the amendments that need to be made to the parish and district ward boundaries as a result. On Monday 3 February we will be republishing the Electoral Register in order to renumber the elector numbers as we were unable to do this on the 1 December 2019 due to the General Election. We had also intended to publish the new parish boundaries as a result of the Community Governance Review. However, as some of the changes to the parish boundaries affect the district ward boundaries we need the Local Government Boundary Commission for (LGBCE) to agree the changes to the district wards. Unfortunately, the timescales have not allowed the LGBCE to approve and publish the Local Order for these district wards ahead of the Register being republished on the 3 February and this means that we are unable to publish the parish boundary changes at this time because the parish and district ward boundaries will not be aligned. The LGBCE will be meeting to agree approval of the district ward boundary changes on the 17 February and the relevant parish and district ward boundary changes will be reflected in the 2 March Electoral Register to come into force for the 7 May local elections. As the boundary changes in most cases are relatively minor this delay will not have a significant impact on the election timetable. Which parish boundary changes will be made on the 3 February Electoral Register? Any parish boundary changes which do not have an impact on the district ward boundaries will be reflected in the 3 February Electoral Register, these are:

• Amendment to Hardwicke and Haresfield parish boundaries to create the new parish of Hunts Grove. • Amendment to Upton St Leonards and Cranham parish to transfer one property from Upton St Leonards to Cranham.

Which parish and district ward boundary changes will be made on the 2 March Electoral Register? Provided the LGBCE have granted approval, the following parish and district boundary changes will be reflected in the 2 March Electoral Register: Community Governance Parish Boundary District Boundary Review Recommendation 3rd February 2020 Agenda item: 15

39 properties transferred from Bisley (Eastcombe ward) to Bisley-with- (Bussage ward) and 4 Lypiatt Chalford 1 Bisley Chalford properties transferred (Eastcombe (Bussage Ward) from Chalford (Bussage Ward) Ward) to Bisley (Eastcombe Ward) 40 properties transferred from Stroud (Trinity Brimscombe and Stroud 2 (Trinity Thrupp Ward) to Brimscombe Thrupp Trinity Ward) and Thrupp parish 132 properties Stonehouse transferred from Cainscross 3 (Ryeford Stonehouse Cainscross Stonehouse (Ryeford) to (Ebley Ward) Ward) Cainscross (Ebley ward) 11 properties transferred from WUE to Wotton- Wotton- 4 Kingswood Kingswood Kingswood. WUE South under-Edge under-Edge ward is abolished Transfer of 1 property from Nailsworth to Minchinhampton 5 Nailsworth Nailsworth Minchinhampton Minchinhampton (Box (Box Ward) Ward) Transfer of 17 properties from Rodborough (South Rodborough Minchinhampton Amberley & 6 ward) to (South (Amberley Rodborough Woodchester Minchinhampton Ward) Ward) (Amberley Ward) Transfer of land (no residential properties) from Eastington to Eastington & Severn & 7 Stonehouse Stonehouse Stonehouse and transfer Standish Hardwicke of land from Standish to Stonehouse Randwick and Westrip No impact on district ward 8 change of councillors Randwick and Westrip boundaries and parish ward names

3rd February 2020 Agenda item: 15

What will this mean for the elections in May? Due to the large number of nominations we expect to receive for the local elections we extended the period in which the nomination papers should be delivered to the Returning Officer by one week to allow them to be delivered between the 24 March and the 8 April. This means that we also wanted to make the nomination papers available as early as possible and intended to make them available from the 11 February. However, due to the boundary changes that will not be made until the 2 March nomination papers for the following parishes/parish wards will not be available until the 2 March:

• Bisley with Lypiatt – Eastcombe ward only • • Cainscross – Ebley ward only • Chalford - Bussage ward only • Kingswood • Minchinhampton – Amberley ward only • Randwick and Westrip – Randwick Ward, South East Ward, South West Ward • Rodborough – South ward only • Stroud – Trinity ward only • Wotton-under-Edge

All other Parish and Parish Ward nomination papers will be available on the 11 February. All District ward nomination papers will also be available on the 11 February, lists of the streets/properties that should not be canvassed for the subscriber’s elector numbers until the 2 March will be provided in the relevant nomination pack. What if the LGBCE do not agree to make the amendments to the District ward boundaries? The amendments to the parish boundaries will still be made on the 2 March as these have been approved by Council. The result may be that some of the parish and district ward boundaries will not be coterminous for the elections in May but there will only be implications if the Parish or Parish wards are contested and an election is held at the same time as the District ward election. To overcome this, double polling stations will be set up at the original polling station to ensure that electors receive the correct parish ballot paper. The issuing of the district ward ballot paper will not be affected. A further update outlining the necessary actions in detail will be issued if we receive notification from the LGBCE that they will not be granting approval to the district ward boundary for any of the relevant parish boundary changes. When are we communicating with residents that have changed parish or district wards? A letter will be sent to all residential properties in the new parish of Hunts Grove and the property that has moved to Cranham between the 5 and 12 February.

3rd February 2020 Agenda item: 15

A letter will be sent to all other properties that have been affected by the parish and district ward boundary changes after the 17 February once we have been notified by the LGBCE if consent has been granted. Request for Electoral Registers If you have not already requested a copy of the Electoral Register for your Ward please respond to this email stating whether you would like to receive a hard copy or emailed PDF copy of the Electoral Register and subsequent monthly updates. If you have any further queries or would like any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind regards Hannah

Hannah Emery Democratic Services and Elections Manager Council

Ebley Mill, Ebley Wharf Stroud, . GL5 4UB

T 01453 754383 W www.stroud.gov.uk

Working together to make Stroud district a better place to live, work and visit

NOTES FROM THE CLERK

A new elections page has been set up on the website. Details were also posted in Grapevine and on Facebook.

Nomination papers will be available from 2nd March 2020. Nomination papers can be submitted to Electoral Services, Stroud District Council between 9am and 4pm on each working day from the 24 March until the close of nominations at 4pm on 8 April.

I have a concern that the papers have to be delivered by hand to SDC. The time to do this is between 9.00am and 4pm Monday to Friday from the 24th March 2020 – 8th April 2020. This is a 12 day period. I am concerned that potential candidates who work or who do not drive will not be able to stand for council. I will try to find out more on this process before the meeting.

I would suggest that KPC hold a number of surgeries to meet potential candidates and hand out the nomination forms. Council to agree dates and locations for these surgeries. I would suggest a variety of locations and that the council should get out to where the community is rather than expect them to come to us. Perhaps one surgery to be held in the village hall and one in the pub. 3rd February 2020 Agenda item: 15

Councillors to actively seek out potential candidates and to promote the role of Councillor.

Information to be updated and put in Grapevine and Facebook.

The Council to consider inviting the CEO of GAPTC Alison Robinson to the Annual Parish Meeting to promote the role of the parish council.

GAPTC will run a new councillor training session in Kingswood if required at a cost of £500.00. As KPC are likely to have a number of new candidates, KPC to consider this in the budget. The date of the training to be agreed by the new council and to take place May/June 2020. The outgoing council will stand down on Monday 11th May 2020 and the new council will take their seat on Monday 11th May 2020. The council will meet for the 1st time as a council on Monday 18th May 2020. The Clerk suggests that a briefing / induction session is held on Monday 11th May 2020. This can be advertised as part of the promotion of the election to show that KPC are offering both training and an induction. The induction would be to go through Standing Orders, Financial Regulations Code of Conduct, the budget and the objectives and the processes surrounding the agenda and meetings. A hard copy of these polices to be handed to the councillors in a Councillor pack.

Decisions for Council 1. The submission of documents to SDC (more information to follow) 2. To consider surgery dates and locations to promote the role of councillor and to hand out the nomination forms. 3. To consider inviting the CEO of GAPTC to the Annual Parish Meeting 4. To consider new councillor training at Kingswood ran by GAPTC at a cost of £500 5. To consider an induction event on Monday 11th May 2020

3rd February 2020