Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats Submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England
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Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrat Party support in general the proposals made by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) relating to the Wiltshire Council Divisions to be elected in 2024. We comment on each individual divisional proposal that sit wholly within the Devizes Parliamentary Constituency. We are aware that several divisions to the south of our Constituency sit mainly in the Salisbury Parliamentary Constituency. We have seen our colleagues submission on these divisions and endorse the views that they express in their response to you. We comment on the divisions that sit in the Devizes Constituency in alphabetical order as follows: Bromham, Rowde and Roundway The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals. The integration of the Roundway parish into the size Devizes parish means that the new parish has to be divided. The area of Roundway is a distinct area with good links to the parishes to the west of Devizes. Community cohesion and good connectivity means Roundway should join with the parishes of Bromham and Rowde to deliver electoral equality. Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Bromham, Rowde and Roundway. Devizes East The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals. The Commission’s proposals place the area west of Windsor Drive into this division. The housing is similar to much of the existing division. This move supports community cohesion while maintaining good electoral equality. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Devizes East. Devizes North The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals. The Commission’s proposals sustain both community cohesion and electoral equality in our view. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Devizes North. Devizes South The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals. The Commission’s proposals sustain community cohesion and electoral equality.. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Devizes South. East Tidworth and South Ludgershall The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals but have a strong preference for a different order to the division name. The Commission propose dividing the divisions in Tidworth by the main road running north to south. We support that approach on the basis of better community cohesion than the original proposal from Wiltshire Council. The combination with Ludgershall is both historic and appropriate on grounds of good local governance and community cohesion. However we do not think that placing the geographic designation before the town name is helpful for residents in identifying their Wiltshire Councillor. Consequently we urge the Commission to reverse the order to place the town first in the division name. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Tidworth East and Ludgershall South. Ludgershall North and Rural The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals. The Commission’s proposal reflect that put forward originally by Wiltshire Council. We supported that proposal and endorse this one. Electoral equality requires a combination of smaller parishes with an area of Ludgershall. The northern part of the town lends itself to this combination as it has the strongest road and transport connections with the parishes. Based on the principle of community cohesion, this division is correctly constructed in our view. We also believe that consistency in naming of rural divisions is important. The generic “rural” is a good term to cover such parish areas. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Ludgershall North and Rural. Marlborough East The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The size of Marlborough requires the town to be divided for reasons of electoral equality. The Commission’s proposals endorse the Council’s original proposals for this division being on an east or west basis. We endorse that approach on the basis of community cohesion. Electoral equality also require the two sections of Marlborough to unite with the parishes that relate most closely to those neighbouring parishes that have strong links to the town.In this case that is the two small parishes to the east of Marlborough. Neither are of sufficient size to warrant inclusion in the division name in our view. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Marlborough East. Marlborough West The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposals reflect the Council’s original proposals for the west part of Marlborough. This links large number of small parishes are of similar character to the part of Marlborough that they link with via road and transport conections. We are aware that two parishes in the Devizes Constituency are proposed to move into the Lyneham division. We support the movement of both Broad Hinton and Winterbourne Bassett into that division not least for better electoral equality. But the matter of community cohesion also suggest this approach. Broad Hinton directly connects to Broad Town, is a joint parish with Winterbourne Bassett, therefore on balance the pair go together We do not believe any of the remaining parishes are of sufficient size to warrant their inclusion in the division name. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Marlborough West. Pewsey The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposals endorse the Council’s original proposal which we support. This creates a division based on the large village community of Pewsey. This generates strong community cohesion and good governance. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Pewsey. Pewsey Vale East The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposal for this area endorses he Council’s original proposal which we support. The Pewsey Vale has a very strong identity, community connectivity and clear boundaries. As the parishes in the eastern part are of a similar sizes we propose the name of the division should reflect the Pewsey Vale as a whole. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Pewsey Vale East. Pewsey Vale West The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposal for the western part Pewsey Vale supports the Council’s original proposal which we support. As with the eastern part of the Vale, no parish is of sufficient size to warrant inclusion in the division name but all share in the strong sense of identity and community cohesion. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Pewsey Vale West. Ramsbury The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposal reflects the original set out by the Council which is one that we support. The connection between the large and small villages at the edge of the county make for a cohesive community of similar character. We do however believe that the size of Aldbourne parish is such that it should join Ramsbury in the name of the proposed division.. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Aldbourne and Ramsbury. Seend, Potterne and Poulshot The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposal endorses the original set out by the Council which is one that we support. There is greater connectivity between the parishes of Seend, Potterne and Poulshot than in the current division. These main parishes are of similar size and character. We believe all three should be referenced in the name of the proposed division. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Seend, Potterne and Poulshot. The Lavingtons The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposal reflects that of the Council’s original proposal which we support. The villages concerned have very strong connections and community links especially between the two Lavingtons. That should, in our view be acknowledged in the division name. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being The Lavingtons. Tidworth North and West The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals As noted above, the Commission proposed an east west dividing line in Tidworth. We endorse that approach as against the one set out in the Council’s original proposal. We do so as we believe it represents greater community cohesion. The areas to the west and north of that divide should, in our view, be reflected in the division name as they are of sufficient size to warrant such an approach. The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats support the division name being Tidworth North and West. Urchfont and Bishops Cannings The Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats broadly accept the Commission’s proposals The Commission’s proposal reflects the Council’s original