Local Government Boundary Commission For Report No. 25 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND

REPORT NO. 25 LOCAL GOVERIT/ENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION POH ENGLAND

CHAIRMAN Sir Edmund Compton, GCB, KBE

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN Mr J M Rankin QC

MEMBERS The Countess of Albemnrle, DBE Mr T C Benfield Professor Michael Chisholm Sir Andrew V/heatley, CBS Mr P B Young, CBE To the Rt Hon Roy Jenkins MP Secretary of Statement for the Home Department

PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DISTRICT IN THE COUNTY OF 1. We, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, having carried out our initial review of the electoral arrangements for the , in accordance with the requirements of section 63 and Schedule 9 to the Local Government Act 1972, present our proposals for the future electoral arrangements for that District,

2. In accordance with the procedure laid down in section 60(l) and (2) of the •i 1972 Act, notice was given on 3 June 1974 that we were to undertake this review. This was incorporated in a consultation letter addressed to the Rochford District Council, copies of which were circulated to the Essex County Council, the Members of Parliament for the constituencies concerned and the headquarters of the main political parties. Copies were also sent to the editors of the local newspapers circulating in the area and to the Local Government press. Notices inserted in the local press announced the start of the review and invited comments from members of the public and from interested bodies.

3* The Rochford District Council were invited to prepare a draft scheme of representation for our consideration. When doing so, they were asked to observe the rules laid down in Schedule 11 to the Local Government Act 1972, and the guidelines which we set out in our Report No 6 about the proposed size of the council and the proposed number of councillors for each ward. They were also asked to take into account any views expressed to them following their consultation with local interests. We therefore asked that they should publish details of their provisional proposals about a month before they submitted their draft scheme to us, thus allowing an opportunity for local comment.

4. On 17 October 1974 the Rochford District Council presented their draft scheme of representation. They proposed to divide the area of the district into 23 wards each returningw 1, 2 or••„•• '-3-member' -j s to form a council of AO.

V '- - . 5. In accordance with section 7(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, they had . "' V;.'*'' " exercised an option for'elections by thirds but proposed that only three of the yards should return 3. councillors. In the remaining varda it vias necessary to provide for the councillors to retire in rotation.

6. We considered the draft scheme submitted by the Council together with the comments which had been made upon it. We noted that the draft scheme complied . with the rules in Schedule 11 to the Local Government Act 197ft and our own guidelines except that the proposed Trinity and Lodge wards, which had similar electorates in 1974, .and were forecast to have similar electorates in 1979, were to be represented by 3 and 2 councillors respectively. We proposed an alteration to the boundary between the 2 wards to transfer part of the proposed Trinity ward to Lodge ward, allocating 2 councillors to the reduced trinity ward and 3 councillors to the enlarged Lodge ward. On the advice of Ordnance Survey we proposed a minor realignment of another ward boundary to relate it to existing detail. We formulated our draft proposals accordingly, adopting the names of wards proposed by the Council except one which we abbreviated.

7. On 29 November we issued our draft proposals and these were sent to all who had received our consultation letter