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Draft recommendations on the future electoral arrangements for Darlington in County Durham December 2000 LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND The Local Government Commission for England is an independent body set up by Parliament. Our task is to review and make recommendations to the Government on whether there should be changes to local authorities’ electoral arrangements. Members of the Commission are: Professor Malcolm Grant (Chairman) Professor Michael Clarke CBE (Deputy Chairman) Peter Brokenshire Kru Desai Pamela Gordon Robin Gray Robert Hughes CBE Barbara Stephens (Chief Executive) We are statutorily required to review periodically the electoral arrangements – such as the number of councillors representing electors in each area and the number and boundaries of wards and electoral divisions – of every principal local authority in England. In broad terms our objective 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, and the number of councillors and ward names. We can also make recommendations for change to the electoral arrangements of parish councils in the borough. © Crown Copyright 2000 Applications for reproduction should be made to: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office Copyright Unit. The mapping in this report is reproduced from OS mapping by the Local Government Commission for England 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. This report is printed on recycled paper. ii LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND CONTENTS page SUMMARY v 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 CURRENT ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS 5 3 REPRESENTATIONS RECEIVED 9 4 ANALYSIS AND DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS 11 5 NEXT STEPS 29 APPENDICES A Proposed Electoral Arrangements from: – Darlington Borough Council – Darlington Borough Council Conservative Group 31 B The Statutory Provisions 35 A large map illustrating the existing and proposed ward boundaries for the town of Darlington is inserted inside the back cover of this report. LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND iii iv LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND SUMMARY The Commission began a review of the electoral arrangements for Darlington on 16 May 2000. • This report summarises the representations we received during the first stage of the review, and makes draft recommendations for change. We found that the existing electoral arrangements provide unequal representation of electors in Darlington: • in 14 of the 25 wards the number of electors represented by each councillor varies by more than 10 per cent from the average for the borough and six wards vary by more than 20 per cent from the average; • by 2005 this unequal representation is not expected to improve, with the number of electors per councillor forecast to vary by more than 10 per cent from the average in 17 wards and by more than 20 per cent in nine wards. Our main draft recommendations for future electoral arrangements (Figures 1 and 2 and paragraphs 94-95) are that: • Darlington Borough Council should have 53 councillors, one more than at present; • there should be 24 wards, instead of 25 as at present; • the boundaries of 23 of the existing wards should be modified and two wards should retain their existing boundaries; • elections should continue to take place every four years. These draft recommendations seek to ensure that the number of electors represented by each borough councillor is as nearly as possible the same, having regard to local circumstances. • In 20 of the proposed 24 wards the number of electors per councillor would vary by no more than 10 per cent from the borough average, one of which would vary by more than 20 per cent. • This improved level of electoral equality is expected to improve further, with the number of electors per councillor in 23 of the 24 wards expected to vary by no more than 10 per cent from the average for the borough in 2005. LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND v Recommendations are also made for changes to parish and town council electoral arrangements which provide for: • new warding arrangements for Whessoe parish. This report sets out our draft recommendations on which comments are invited. • We will consult on our draft recommendations for 10 weeks from 12 December 2000. Because we take this consultation very seriously, we may move away from our draft recommendations in the light of Stage Three responses. It is therefore important that all interested parties let us have their views and evidence, whether or not they agree with our draft recommendations. • After considering local views, we will decide whether to modify our draft recommendations and then make our final recommendations to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. • It will then be for the Secretary of State to accept, modify or reject our final recommendations. He will also determine when any changes come into effect. You should express your views by writing directly to the Commission at the address below by 19 February 2001: Review Manager Darlington Review Local Government Commission for England Dolphyn Court 10/11 Great Turnstile London WC1V 7JU Fax: 020 7404 6142 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.lgce.gov.uk vi LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND Figure 1: The Commission’s Draft Recommendations: Summary Ward name Number of Constituent areas councillors 1 Bank Top 2 Bank Top ward (part); Lingfield ward (part); Lascelles ward (part) 2 Central 2 Central ward (part); College ward (part); Haughton East ward (part); Northgate North ward (part) 3 Cockerton East 3 Cockerton East ward (part) 4 Cockerton West 2 Cockerton East ward (part); Cockerton West ward 5 College 2 College ward (part); Pierremont ward (part) 6 Eastbourne 3 Eastbourne North ward; Eastbourne South ward 7 Faverdale 1 Cockerton East ward (part); Whessoe ward (part – Archdeacon Newton parish) 8 Harrowgate Hill 3 Harrowgate Hill ward (part); Whessoe ward (part – Harrowgate ward of Whessoe parish as proposed) 9 Haughton East 2 Haughton East ward (part); Haughton West ward (part) 10 Haughton North 2 Haughton East ward (part) 11 Haughton West 3 Haughton West ward (part) 12 Heighington & 2 Heighington ward (Heighington parish); Whessoe ward (part – Coniscliffe Denton, High Coniscliffe, Houghton-le-Side, Killerby, Low Coniscliffe & Merrybent, Piercebridge, Summerhouse and Walworth parishes) 13 Hummersknott 2 Hummersknott ward (part); Mowden ward (part) 14 Hurworth 2 Unchanged (Hurworth, Neasham and Sockburn parishes) 15 Lascelles 2 Lascelles ward (part); Bank Top ward (part) 16 Lingfield 2 Central ward (part); Lingfield ward (part) 17 Middleton St George 2 Unchanged (Middleton St George and Low Dinsdale parishes) 18 Mowden 2 Mowden ward (part) 19 Northgate 2 Northgate South ward; Northgate North ward (part); Pierremont ward (part) 20 North Road 3 Harrowgate Hill ward (part); Northgate North ward (part); North Road ward 21 Park East 3 Park East ward; Park West ward (part); Central ward (part) 22 Park West 2 Park West ward (part); Hummersknott ward (part) 23 Pierremont 3 Northgate North (part); Pierremont ward (part) LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND vii Ward name Number of Constituent areas councillors 24 Sadberge & Whessoe 1 Sadberge ward (Barmpton, Bishopton, Brafferton, East & West Newbiggin, Great Burdon, Great Stainton, Little Stainton, Morton Palms and Sadberge parishes); Whessoe ward (part – Coatham Mundeville parish and Whessoe Rural ward of Whessoe parish as proposed) Notes: 1 The borough contains 26 parishes. The urban area of Darlington is not parished and comprises 21 wards, under existing arrangements. 2 Map 2 and the large map at the back of this report illustrate the proposed wards outlined above. viii LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND Figure 2: The Commission’s Draft Recommendations for Darlington Ward name Number Electorate Number of Variance Electorate Number of Variance of (2000) electors per from (2005) electors per from councillors councillor average councillor average % % 1 Bank Top 2 2,895 1,448 1 2,827 1,414 -2 2 Central 2 2,812 1,406 -2 2,750 1,375 -4 3 Cockerton East 3 3,793 1,264 -12 4,060 1,353 -6 4 Cockerton West 2 3,109 1,555 9 2,959 1,480 3 5 College 2 2,973 1,487 4 3,003 1,502 4 6 Eastbourne 3 4,100 1,367 -5 4,109 1,370 -5 7 Faverdale 1 909 909 -36 1,383 1,383 -4 8 Harrowgate Hill 3 4,109 1,370 -4 4,431 1,477 3 9 Haughton East 2 3,002 1,501 5 2,904 1,452 1 10 Haughton North 2 2,974 1,487 4 2,877 1,439 0 11 Haughton West 3 4,163 1,388 -3 4,168 1,389 -3 Heighington & 12 2 2,453 1,227 -14 2,743 1,372 -5 Coniscliffe 13 Hummersknott 2 2,974 1,487 4 2,958 1,479 3 14 Hurworth 2 2,867 1,434 0 3,074 1,537 7 15 Lascelles 2 2,724 1,362 -5 2,768 1,384 -4 16 Lingfield 2 2,782 1,391 -3 2,752 1,376 -4 17 Middleton St George 2 2,870 1,435 0 2,885 1,443 0 18 Mowden 2 3,123 1,562 9 3,015 1,508 5 19 Northgate 2 3,156 1,578 10 2,963 1,482 3 20 North Road 3 4,677 1,559 9 4,485 1,495 4 21 Park East 3 4,432 1,477 3 4,388 1,463 2 22 Park West 2 2,912 1,456 2 2,775 1,388 -3 23 Pierremont 3 4,426 1,475 3 4,305 1,435 0 24 Sadberge & Whessoe 1 1,615 1,615 13 1,621 1,621 13 Totals 53 75,850 – – 76,203 – – Averages – – 1,431 – – 1,438 – Source: Electorate figures are based on Darlington Borough Council’s submission.