Birmingham Electoral Ward Boundaries Submission September 2015
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BIRMINGHAM ELECTORAL WARD BOUNDARIES SUBMISSION SEPTEMBER 2015 Birmingham Conservative Group Boundary Submission Contact:- Cllr Robert Alden, Leader of the Conservative Group Page 1 of 60 Introduction The following submission has been prepared by the Conservative group. In putting together our proposals we have carried out consultations and worked with local communities to try and deliver a set of proposals for Birmingham City Council ward boundaries that best represent the local communities of Birmingham. The process we went through to put together these process is outlined below. The first consideration of all our proposals was what guidelines we would use to put the boundaries together. The guidelines we used followed the statutory guidance:- 1. Equality of representation 2. Reflecting community identities and interests 3. Providing for convenient and effective local government In addition to this we also felt it was vital to consider the Commission’s guidance in the letter to Mark Rogers, 21st July 2015, which stated “any three member wards proposed would need to be individually and specifically evidenced”. Taking this into account our final proposals does not include any three member wards. We felt by the end of the process it was possible to produce a map without a three member ward and given the clear indication that the preference was for no three member wards this should be the basis on which we proceeded. We started the process by setting up a working group with a member of each Constituency association on it to ensure all parts of the city, even areas without Conservative Councillors had an equal voice. This group pulled together a communities map to show the natural communities of Birmingham (see appendix 1). These natural communities formed the base of wards that we then put together having a view to meeting the three statutory criteria. Looking at communities we also highlighted the main barriers in the city. In a number of places rivers, train lines, canals, main roads and motorways are major barriers to community ties. However we did not allow a barrier to prevent a ward being created if there where community ties spanning that barrier E.G. sometimes a railway line can be a unifying feature for local communities. Page 2 of 60 Having outlined the measures by which we would carry out producing our proposals with, we consulted on our list of all the natural communities in Birmingham with Associations to ensure that we had got a complete list. After we had produced this list we considered the electorate for each community and produced a first draft map of boundaries which we felt represented communities. After this first draft we carried out a first stage consultation internally within the Conservative Group and with Conservative Associations from each constituency. This first stage consultation allowed us to determine if the proposals where picking up all the local community ties through a range of 2 and 1 member wards. Following this we made minor changes to the boundaries, particularly focused on ensuring the boundary went alone the middle of a road or at the back of a road depending on what was most appropriate for that community. This allowed us to produce a more complete draft boundary map. At this point we carried out a second stage consultation, with members of the group talking to local community groups, residents etc to see if the proposals were sensible for local communities. This then led us to a final draft of the map, the version which has been submitted with this document. At this point the Conservative Group carried out a third stage consultation talking to community groups and local residents. Time restraints limited this process to being run by each local association so it was not a uniform process. What this meant was in some parts of the City members went door to door talking to residents, others contacted community groups, churches etc to discuss the proposals, some delivered leaflets to residents homes to give them a chance to comment on the proposal for their specific area. This has resulted in significant levels of support for our proposals from local residents in the forms of petitions and supporting letters. We have included all of these in the appendix attached to this submission. Page 3 of 60 Proposed Warding Patterns for Birmingham All our proposals for new warding patterns across Birmingham follow the statutory criteria where our evidence and rationale is clearly stated in line with the following: 1. Equality of representation 2. Reflecting community identities and interests 3. Providing for convenient and effective local government Our proposals are based on 99 Councillors as it was felt 99 better fitted the communities that exist within Birmingham than 100 did, once we had worked through the first stage of our proposal. The electorate of the City is proposed to be 813,401 in 2021. This therefore meant the average electorate per a Councillor on this scheme is 8216.17 we rounded this to 8216 as clearly you can’t have part an elector. This meant that the upper and lower limits for wards were 9037.78 and 7394.55. We rounded these to be figures of 9037 and 7395 so that both were rounded to within the 10% tolerance not over the limits. We propose 67 wards of which 32 are two member wards and 35 single member wards. All of the wards that we propose are within 10%+/- of the electorate of 8216 per a Councillor (ie 14789-18074 for 2 member wards). This has been done to ensure that the equality of representation criteria, number 1 above, of the commission is met. Within these parameters we have generally prioritised ensuring communities ties are best represented. The three wards with the lowest electorate per a Councillor each have specific reasons behind this; we briefly highlight these below for your information and expand on these within the main table of the report. Royal Sutton Four Oaks – 14889 (-9.4%) Royal Sutton Walmley and Minworth – 14881 (-9.4%) Both of these seats have clearly defined communities. In the case of Four Oaks the ward takes the Four Oaks and Mere Green community which have interconnected history and community links with Mere Green High Street providing the shopping community for Page 4 of 60 the ward. While in Walmley and Minworth the area is a very clear community in Sutton Coldfield which was all built around the same time and is clearly connected. We expand on the community links of these two wards in the table below. These two wards are also significantly larger, geographically, than any other ward in the city having an area of 14.91 and 16.81 Sq Km almost twice the area of the next largest ward Royal Sutton Rectory at 8.65 Sq Km (see appendix 33). Therefore them being on the smaller size but still within the criteria prevents the wards being excessively large for communities and the Council to work across. However in addition these wards have significant space for new house building, much of which is planned for post 2021. The fact that these wards, based on community links, are on the lower end of the scale allows for this future house building to take place without making the ward become oversized. In effect future proofing the ward against expected future developments post 2021. Castle Vale – 7409 (-9.8%) In the case of Castle Vale, which we cover in detail in the table below, is a clear community in its own right. Castle Vale is roughly surrounding on the eastern border, the railway line, River Tame and then M6 motorway on the Southern border, the Kingsbury Road on the Northern border and a railway line on the Western border. We explain in the table below all the community ties that exist locally and how the estate is clearly separate to other parts of the City both by its design and by community links. No other wards proposed are under 9% from the average electorate and no wards proposed in our plan are over 9% of the upper limit. Major Retail Centres Across Birmingham there are two major retail and business centres. These are Birmingham City Centre and Sutton Coldfield Town Centre. Both of these are considered major regional centres and therefore carry a number of specific issues, have very labour intensive work with Business groups and dealing with night time economies. It was felt that the introduction of single member wards gave an opportunity for both these areas to get a dedicated Councillor who was able to focus on the Regional centre issues in a way that was not possible when they formed small parts of much larger wards previously. Page 5 of 60 Proposed Names of Wards for Birmingham All our proposals for wards have been given a name. We have tried to ensure names of areas or historic buildings are used where ever possible to ensure maximum community link to the proposed wards. In the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield we have reflected the recently reconfirmed Royal status of the town by changing the naming structure from Sutton x Ward last time to Royal Sutton x Ward this time. It is felt this would again reflect the wishes of local community which had fought long and hard to have the Royal Status again recognised officially. Page 6 of 60 Public consultations for proposed Birmingham ward boundaries We carried out significant public consultation of local residents, which is attached in the appendixes of this report. The consultation We carried out ranged from public events on local High Streets to surveys or going door to door with a map and petition.