BOROUGH COUNCIL OF WELLINGBOROUGH AGENDA ITEM 9 Council 17 July 2018 Report of Director COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW 1 Purpose of report To inform members of the outcome of the Community Governance Review (CGR) initial submission and consultation, and provide a draft proposal for the next stage of the process. 2 Executive summary 2.1 The last CGR was carried out in 2012. The council has the responsibility for carrying out reviews approximately every 10-15 years. Despite the fact that it has only been six years since the last review, expected changes to local governance in Northamptonshire has prompted the CGR, with a view to the formation of a town council for Wellingborough. 2.2 This CGR commenced on 17 May 2018 when the terms of reference for the review were published. A seven week consultation period then followed until 5 July 2018 where submissions for the review were invited. 2.3 Members are invited to consider the proposals made as a result of the initial consultation exercise. 2.4 Areas affected: Wellingborough, Finedon parish, Great Harrowden parish 3 Appendices 3.1 Appendix A: Draft proposals and maps detailing the proposals 3.2 Appendix B: lists of parish precepts across the borough and the current Special Economic Area 3.3 Appendix C: SUEs alongside current ward boundaries 3.4 Appendix D: Terms of Reference for the CGR 4 Proposed action: The council is invited to RESOLVE to: 4.1 Determine whether the proposal for the creation of a town council should progress and, if so, whether it be based on draft ward boundaries included in proposals A or B; 1 4.2 Include within proposals A or B a change to the town boundary to include the whole area of the two Sustainable Urban Extensions (Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park), subject to the approval of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England; 4.3 Begin a three month consultation period on the draft proposals, commencing on 23 July 2018. 5 Background 5.1 The last review of all parishes took place in 2012. Best practice suggests that a Community Governance Review should be held every ten to fifteen years. 5.2 From February 2008 the council has had responsibility for carrying out Community Governance Reviews (CGR) for the borough which took the place of parish reviews. Whilst initiated by the borough council, CGRs tend to be led by the requirements of the existing or proposed parish councils. The purpose of the CGR is to give those councils sufficient opportunity to consider whether they wish to make any changes. Best practice suggests that reviews should take place every 10-15 years. 5.3 There are various stages to the CGR, and at each stage the council must consult with local residents. The terms of reference for this review (see appendix D) were approved at the extraordinary council meeting on 16 May 2018, and contain details of the review process together with a timetable of key dates. The whole process is expected to take nine months. 6 Representations and submissions 6.1 No submissions or representations were received on the terms of reference and timetable during the first public consultation period which ended on 5 July 2018. 7 Discussion 7.1 As there were no submission or representations, Council can now determine to move to the next stage if it is so minded; namely consultation on the proposal to create a town council. 7.2 As part of that proposal a change is also recommended to amend the boundaries between the town and Finedon and Great Harrowden parishes, in line with the Sustainable Urban Extensions (SUEs) in Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park under development on the edges of the town. If existing boundaries remain, both developments would have town/parish boundaries running through them, therefore dividing the community from an electoral representation point of view. The effect of the proposed boundary changes would be to bring the total areas of Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park within the remit of the town council. 7.3 Details are summarised below, together with relevant background information that officers have taken into account when drawing up the draft proposals. Full details of the two options submitted have been included at Appendix A, but are summarised below. 2 7.4 If Council agrees one of the proposals below, permission will need to be sought at the conclusion of the CGR from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) to amend parish boundaries. The borough council has the power to make those boundary changes itself in normal circumstances, but not on this occasion - as the borough has been subject to an LGBCE review within the last five years. 7.5 Proposal A: Twenty-three councillors over nine wards 7.6 A town council covering the town of Wellingborough, co-terminus with the surrounding parish boundaries. The current wards of the town would be used as the basis for the warding of the parish, with polling districts FA (Millers Park) and IB (John Lea area of Irchester ward) joining Isebrook ward to provide better equality in terms of the number of electors represented by each town councillor. Electorate details are contained in appendix A. 7.7 Finedon and Great Harrowden parish boundaries would be amended to ensure that the SUEs currently being developed in the town are represented by the town council. 7.8 Proposal B: Twenty-three councillors over nine wards 7.9 A town council covering the town of Wellingborough, co-terminus with the surrounding parish boundaries. The current wards of the town would be used as the basis for the warding of the parish, with polling district CA (Croyland) joining Swanspool ward and polling districts FA (Millers Park) and IB (John Lea area of Irchester ward) joining the remaining polling districts (CB and CC) of Croyland ward. Electorate details are contained in appendix A. 7.10 Finedon and Great Harrowden parish boundaries would be amended to ensure that the SUEs currently being developed in the town are represented by the town council. 7.11 Proposal C: No town council is proposed 7.12 For completeness, the option to take no further action is included. 7.13 Finedon parish boundary 7.14 Current arrangements: Finedon parish boundary is currently co-terminus with Finedon ward. 3 7.15 Proposed arrangements: Amend the Finedon parish boundary to exclude all of the proposed Stanton Cross development as outlined in the hatched areas on the map attached as part of appendix A. A full map of the proposed SUE alongside current ward boundaries is included at appendix C. 7.16 Great Harrowden parish boundary 7.17 Current arrangements: Great Harrowden parish boundary is currently co- terminus with the western boundary of Finedon ward and the northern boundaries of Rixon and Redwell wards. 7.18 Proposed arrangements: Amend the boundary of Great Harrowden parish to exclude all of the proposed Glenvale Park development as outlined in the hatched areas on the map attached as appendix A. A full map of the proposed SUE alongside current ward boundaries is included at appendix C. 8 Electoral arrangements 8.1 The average representation at parish level across the borough is one councillor per 224 electors. If proportionate representation were to be required in the town this would result in 171 councillors for a town council. This is clearly not a realistic approach, and the fact that rural parishes cover wider geographic areas must be taken into account. In addition, no parish (with the exception of Irchester) is warded. Note: Irchester is warded to recognise the separate community of Little Irchester. 8.2 Details of other town councils of comparable size (and larger town councils in Northamptonshire) are outlined below: Town Council Population Members Pop. per member Rushden 29,000 21 1381 Daventry 25,000 17 1471 Dunstable 36,000 21 1714 Weymouth* 52,000 29 1793 Banbury 44,000 22 2000 Warwick 31,000 15 2067 Aylesbury 58,000 25 2320 Leamington Spa 56,000 16 3500 *Weymouth Town Council is has been established following a Community Governance Review undertaken by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council but no elections have yet taken place (due in May 2019). Creation of this town council hinges on the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government approving plans for Dorset to move to a unitary authority model. 8.3 Figures for representation at town council level vary greatly between councils and there is no discernible guidance from government with regard to the number of electors to be represented by councillors. 4 8.4 The current electorate of the town (the unparished area of the borough) is 38,443. 8.5 Legislation demands that the number of any parish councillors shall be not less than five councillors but there is no maximum number. 23 councillors for the town would give an average representation of 1,667 electors per councillor, which is comparable to other town councils with a similar electorate. 8.6 The proposed wards for the town council are within ±5% of the proposed representation figure. Full details of the proposed warding can be found at appendix A. 9 Legal powers 9.1 Local Government and Public Involvement and Health Act 2007 Representation of the People Act 1983 10 Financial and value for money implications 10.1 The council will need to bear the cost of a review, for which no separate budget is available in 2018/19. Costs will include employee time, printing, postage, and advertising. 10.2 For the information of members, current precept arrangements for the existing parishes and the special economic area of the town are included at appendix B.