Parish, Town Councils submissions to the Council electoral review

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Response to Local Government Boundary Commissions proposals for new Purbeck District Council ward boundaries.

To the Review Officer, Purbeck review

I am writing as the Chair of Morden Parish Council.

The proposal to place Morden and in the Wareham St Martins ward goes against the principles of grouping communities together which have similar interests and historic and current social links. Morden and Bloxworth are both very small rural communities with no shop, school, street lights etc., all community action is by volunteers and self‐ help. Morden is in the catchment area of primary school and the school busses take the children to the primary and then the secondary school in the . Bloxworth children usually go to first school but eventually all the children end up at Lytchett Minster Secondary school using the same bus. Morden and Bloxworth are part of the Red Post Benefice/Parish and share the same vicar and Parish Magazine. The Churches link with Bere Regis Parish and their Parish news is in the Red Post Magazine.

All the parish links are West‐East in the area north of the A35, the bus service goes from – Dorchester via Bere Regis. There is no public transport to Wareham or Sandford, therefore many residents use the Bere Regis or Lytchett Matravers doctors surgeries. There is often resentment in the villages of Morden and Bloxworth that Wareham and Sandford residents are very reluctant to attend events in the Morden Village Hall, such as the Purbeck Film Festival or Artsreach. Children in Bloxworth and Morden attend Cubs Scouts and Guides in Bere Regis or Lytchett Matravers, and girls from Lytchett Matravers and Bere come to Morden for Brownies.

Morden and Bloxworth, are ‘Estate’ villages still largely owned by one landlord as is Bere Regis. Traditionally after working for the Estate on farms or forestry, the retiring workers would be offered a house to rent in Bere Regis on the basis that it was the village with shops and Doctors surgery and social clubs. As a result many local families have elderly relatives in Bere Regis, and cousin families in Bloxworth. The same names are found in the gravestones of all the churches House, Gale, Legg, Foot, Green and Crocker and their descendants still feature in local activities. Residents of Housing Association houses in Morden and Bloxworth often swop and bid for houses in the neighbouring village to find the appropriate size house and the idea of local link includes both villages.

For many years now Morden has been part of the Lytchett Matravers ward, previously I believe it was part of Bere ward. Being a very small rural village arbitrarily lumped with a very large suburban village has had some problems of Morden being overlooked and occasionally barely represented at District as our concerns are very different to that of our much larger neighbours. To be thrown in with Sandford in the Wareham St Martins ward is to repeat the problem with the added problem of no natural links and knowledge of each others interests.

Sandford is a town fringe community with all the facilities but not much community self support. Even more distinct as a problem is that because of geography the interests of the two small villages are actually in opposition to those of Sandford in terms of planning, the desire for affordable housing and traffic. Sandford is a large ribbon village cut in half by the A351 road which for various reasons is never likely to have a bypass. It is in the interest of Sandford residents to encourage increasing amounts of heavy traffic to use the B3075 which directly causes problems for the villages of Bloxworth and Morden in road safety at Morden Park Corner. The B3075 may physically link Morden and Sandford but the four miles of forest it crosses is a natural and distinct barrier.

A Representative of the Morden Parish Council spoke eloquently at the Purbeck District Council meeting discussing the proposed Boundary changes against Morden being included with Wareham St Martins. It is a pity that those comments were not included with PDC response.

On behalf of Morden Parish council I ask that it is seriously considered whether Morden stays in the present ward of Lytchett Matravers and Morden. Alternatively use part of the County Division and join Bere Regis, Bloxworth, , Moreton and East Stoke in a two member ward for ‘Bere Regis Area’ or ‘North Purbeck’ or ‘Purbeck Forest’ ward. This would mean that a good proportion of the electors of the ward would live in small rural villages and therefore their views could not be ignored by the elected councillors and District Council.

Please consider this suggestion seriously it is the combined views of the Parish Councillors.

Yours sincerely

Alex Brenton. Chair of Morden Parish Council

Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle Parish Council

19th June 2012

Re: LGBCE Draft Proposals for Purbeck.

The Review Officer (Purbeck)

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to convey an initial response to the draft proposals for ward boundary changes within Purbeck from and Turnerspuddle Parish Council.

This parish council will be responding in greater detail following consultation with our residents. Following a unanimous vote taken at our meeting of 13th June, our initial response is to object to the proposal to join this parish principally with the parish of Wool in a three member ward.

Our basis for this objection is:

 No geographical connection.  No direct road links.  No social or political links with Wool.  No public transport to Wool whatsoever.  Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle is a fully rural community while Wool is an urban area and as such faces differing and conflicting issues.  Our equality of representation will be of little value against a larger urban vote.  We will lose the effective and convenient local government which we enjoy at present by inclusion in a three councillor ward.  Our continued inclusion in a ward made up of similar sized fully rural parishes would better preserve our community identity.

In this age of ever expanding urban areas it is essential to preserve a rural voice to ensure fair representation. We should not be lumping small rural communities to urban wards merely to better ‘balance’ elector numbers. Unacceptable percentage variance in ward elector numbers can (as here) be due to a very small number of individual electors. Changing so drastically a system that works extremely well purely for the sake of slightly greater numerical compliance would prove very counterproductive.

Yours sincerely,

Nicholas Gore

Chairman, Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle Parish Council

Parish of Arne

CLERK FOR THE PARISH COUNCIL

3rd July 2012

The Review Officer (Purbeck) [email protected] Local Government Boundary Commission for Layden House Turnmill Street EC1M 5LG

Dear Sir

Local Government Boundary Commission for England Further Electoral Review of Purbeck District Council Consultation Response to Draft Recommendations

The Parish Council has viewed the documents relating to the above and ha s the follo wing comments :

 East Stoke and have almost identical characteristics and it would be a mistake for them to be separate d. Neither Parishes ha ve any con nection to Wool and th e fear is that they will not be represented sufficiently if aligned to such a large Parish. West Purbeck is a rural area and therefore it is far better for these communities to stay together.  Using road connections as an example of connectivity has no bearing on the reality of inter- community liaisons, they are basically physical connections only and little weight should be given to them. On this basis, we would add the following two comments.  Wareham St Martin is a ribbon development that has rural and urban areas but Morden is completely rural and has more in common with Lytchett Matravers.  Bloxworth Parish has always been supported and represented through Bere Regis and this should continue for the sake of bot h communities. Residents have always gone t o Bere Regis for school, medical facilities and community events.  Although the above matters are not in line with the main argument of equal representation by district councillors, the variances are small and the sup port the stat ed needs set out in the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.

 Secure effective and convenient local government  Reflect the identities and interests of local communities in particular o The desirability of arriving at boundaries that are easily identifiable o The desirability of fixing boundaries so as not to break any local ties

We hope the above comments are of use to you in your deliberations.

Yours faithfully

MD Weller Clerk

Parish Council of Wareham St Martin 2nd July 2012

The Review Officer (Purbeck) [email protected] Local Government Boundary Commission for England Layden House Turnmill Street London EC1M 5LG

Dear Sir

Local Government Boundary Commission for England Further Electoral Review of Purbeck District Council Consultation Response to Draft Recommendations

The Parish Council has viewed the documents relating to the above and has the following comments :

 Wareham St Martin Parish has no community connections with and it is felt the historic connection with Lytchett Minster should be retained. The small number of electorat e is not going to make a huge difference in representation and it is felt that the current ties should not be severed.  Morden Parish has strong connections with Lytchett Matravers and again has no contact with this Parish; it is felt the current status should remain. Wareham St Martin is a ribbon development that has rural and urban areas but Mord en is completely rural a nd has more in commo n with Lytch ett Matravers.  Bloxworth Parish has a lways been supported a nd represented through Bere Regis and this sho uld continue for the sake o f both communities. Residents na turally go to Bere Regis for schoo l and community events.  East Stoke and East Holme have al most identical characteristics and it would be a mistake for them to be separated. Neither Parishes have any connection to Wool and the fear is that they will not be represented sufficiently if aligned to such a large Parish. West Purbeck is a rural area and therefore it is far better for these communities to stay together.  Using road connect ions as an example of connectivity has no bea ring on the reality of inter- community liaisons, they are basically physical c onnections only and little weight should be given t o them.  Although the above matters are not in line with the main arg ument of equal representation by district councillors, the varian ces are small and the support the stated needs set out in the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.  Secure effective and convenient local government  Reflect the identities and interests of local communities in particular

o The desirability of arriving at boundaries that are easily identifiable o The desirability of fixing boundaries so as not to break any local ties

We hope the above comments are of use to you in your deliberations.

Yours faithfully

M D Weller CLERK FOR THE PARISH COUNCIL

Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle Parish Council

2ND July 2012

Submission with regard to Draft Recommendations on the New Electoral Arrangements for Purbeck District Council.

We wish to register an objection to the Draft Recommendations.

Taking the legal obligations which guide you, in turn

1. Deliver electoral equality for voters.

Our Parish is currently part of the Winfrith ward, made up from a small number of similar rural parishes. The ward has a - 10% variance from the district mean number of electors. It is estimated that this will grow to - 11% by 2017.

This compares with the proposed new 3 member Wool ward (+10 % and +11%) where we are included in the draft proposals and which you find acceptable. In the District Council’s own submission which you have rejected (moving to 25 councillors) our compliance would improve to -7% and -8%. Your own proposal therefore actually delivers to us less representation per elector, the degree of this impact being the absolute maximum degree you will tolerate (-10% would become +10%).

Also, as was recognised when the electoral arrangements were reviewed in 1997, combining a rural parish with Wool would mean the rural parishes are unlikely to have a ‘local’ member elected.

What is clear is that in order to address the problem of Wool’s present excessive variance (+25% rising to +26% in 2017) our current arrangement which we are quite happy with and which provides, electoral equality, effective and convenient local government, and reflects local and community interests and identities, has been sacrificed.

2. Reflect local community interests and identities.

Under your draft arrangements the residents of Wool and Bovington (78% of the ward) will determine our representation at PDC. The heterogeneity which you have created within the new ward by lumping together urban and rural communities, will lead to a drowning out of our rural voice and identity in a situation where conflicting positions will often exist. .

In addition few community, cultural or transport links exist across the proposed new ward and our parishioners do not tend to have particularly strong affinities with any parts of Bovington or Wool. Affpuddle and parish has a closer affinity to Dorchester while Wool has closer links with Wareham. The identities, topography and communications of the two areas are quite different.

The legal requirement to reflect local community interests and identities seems to be put under strain if not contravened here.

3. Promote effective and convenient local government.

Moving to a three member ward by lumping together these quite disparate communities will produce difficulties in the areas of representation and of co-ordination of the three councillor’s activities which will militate against the delivery of this legal requirement.

Summary

To summarize, in order to deal with an unacceptable variance from electoral equality in Wool, you have dismembered our existing ward and redistributed its components to produce more numerically compliant wards, which in our case is far less satisfactory in the areas of the other two legal obligations upon you. Our rural voice will be drowned out and identity lost in the ward you propose for us.

We urge you to address this issue urgently by altering your proposals so as to allow us to remain in a rural ward made up of more similar parishes if you are not to generate serious disillusion with and disengagement from local government in this parish.

Yours sincerely,

Nicholas Gore Chairman, Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle Parish Council

2nd July 2012

Review Officer Purbeck Review The Local Government Boundary Commission for England Layden House 76–86 Turnmill Street London EC1M 5LG [email protected]

Dear Sir/Madam,

Bloxworth – Draft recommendations on the new electoral arrangements for Purbeck District Council –May 2012

Further to the above document, I am writing to you to strongly disagree with your conclusions in relation to Bloxworth for the following reasons:

1 Whilst it is agreed that taking Bere Regis and Bloxworth together will produce 12% more electors per councillor than the district average by 2017 and achieving numerical electoral fairness has been the prime aim, this has been done at the expense of, and without regard to two of the three stated needs set out in the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.

The recommendation to move Bloxworth from Bere Regis, where there are clearly identifiable strong ties, to Wareham St Martin and Morden, where there are none, does not:  Secure effective and convenient local government  Reflect the identities and interests of local communities in particular o The desirability of arriving at boundaries that are easily identifiable o The desirability of fixing boundaries so as not to break any local ties

In terms of percentage electoral variance, whilst 12% may seem high, it is not significantly greater than some others in the Purbeck District. Due to Bloxworth being a Parish Meeting rather than a Parish Council, it is particularly necessary that our strong ties with Bere Regis are allowed to continue in order to secure effective and convenient local government, as is the current practice, rather than being represented by Morden and Wareham St Martin, both who have their own Parish Councils and who have no ties with Bloxworth, but who have their own significant local issues which have no bearing on Bloxworth.

2 The recommendations are wrong about there being no reference to representation being received from Bere Regis Parish Council of a shared identity with Bloxworth and being primarily focused on wanting to be in a single member ward. We have had a number of discussions with the Bere Regis Parish Council and the fact that they did not mention this in their submission does not mean that it did not happen. Also Bere Regis Parish Council have, as far as I can see, not suggested being joined by Bloxworth, because they have been told that that would put the ward outside the tolerances allowed. However, we assume there must be mitigating circumstances, especially if this avoids a community being appended to some area that it has little or no connection with. It is pertinent to note the history of connection with Bere Regis, where District Councillors for the Bere Regis ward, Vick Stone and his daughter Sue Stone, both lived at Bloxworth.

3 In relation to the road connections, the A35 and the B3075, these are simply physical connections with Wareham St Martin and Bloxworth, whilst Bere Regis is equally connected with Bloxworth by the A35. Identifying the road connections has little bearing on the matter.

4 A number of the Bloxworth families are also related to Bere Regis families, names such as Gales, Boatswains, Sawyers, Holes and Muscato to name just a few. We share many facilities: Schools, Doctor’s surgery and pharmacy. The Bloxworth village memorial club is used for shared community events. A number of our people are members of the Bere Regis Scouts and the Gardening Club. We also share the use of the Bere Regis fuel filling station, post office, shops, businesses, car servicing and countryside store, plus the retained fire brigade. Bloxworth has historically been associated with Bere Regis, which is just 2.5 miles away using the A35, but which is regularly reached by foot, cycle and horse, past the Boundary Oak, which was mentioned in the Doomsday Book, and on through Bere Woods, which directly connect Bloxworth with Bere Regis. Inspection of the official Electoral Review map for Purbeck shows very appropriately the physical geographical connection of Bloxworth CP with Bere Regis CP, a connection which does not exist with Bloxworth, Morden and Warehan St Martin CPs.

5 As a matter of interest, we would be interested to review the evidence that you have gathered that demonstrates some community connections between ourselves and Wareham St Martin and Morden. We would like to validate this with our own people in the same way that we have done with the evidence that we have supplied to you.

Taking into consideration all of the above, and on behalf of the residents of Bloxworth, I would request that you reconsider your recommendation in relation to Bloxworth.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs S J Acland Chair Bloxworth Parish Meeting

Cc Mr Ian Ventham, Chairman, Bere Regis PC Mr Peter Wharf, District Councillor, Bere Regis ward Mr Gary Suttle, Leader, Purbeck District Council Mrs Annette Brooke, MP

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Skerten, Alex

From: Sue Acland [ Sent: 09 July 2012 12:22 To: Reviews@; Peter Wharf; [email protected]; Ian Ventham; Debbie Weller; Annette BROOKE Subject: Fw: blox map Attachments: boundaries map - Bloxworth_jpeg Dear All,

Further to my letter dated 3rd July, please find attached a scan of the BC map, which was referred to in the letter. The map neatly shows Bloxworth CP, making up the Eastern Boundary of Bere Regis. The map also identifies that the main settlement of Bloxworth lies in the west part of the CP and less than a field’s width from the CP boundary with Bere Regis. In relation to the main settlements of Morden and Wareham St Martin, Bloxworth is a far greater distance.

I understand that a time extension has been made until 11th July in order the make representations.

Kind Regards,

Mrs Sue Acland Chair of the Bloxworth Parish Meeting

From: Ion Acland Sent: Monday, July 09, 2012 9:14

Subject: blox map

No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG ‐ www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2178 / Virus Database: 2437/5118 ‐ Release Date: 07/08/12

09/07/2012

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Skerten, Alex

From: West Parish Council [ Sent: 04 July 2012 12:39 To: Re views@ Cc: 'Steve Mackenzie'; 'Cllr Quinn' Subject: Re: Electoral Review of Purbeck: Draft Reccommendations PARISH COUNCIL

Dear Mr Skerton

Re: Electoral Review of Purbeck: Draft Reccommendations

Thank you for your letter, poster and summary of the draft recommendations sent via Purbeck District Council to the Parish Clerk.

The Parish Council has considered your draft recommendations at their meeting held on July 2nd.

West Lulworth Parish Council opposes the suggested changes to the electoral district wards involving parishes in the South West of the District. The Parish Council supports the current warding pattern which promotes effective and convenient local government.

Kind regards Julie Wright

Mrs Julie Wright Clerk to West Lulworth Parish Council

06/07/2012

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Skerten, Alex

From: nicki johnson [ Sent: 06 July 2012 12:52 To: Re views@ Subject: Electoral Review of Purbeck - Dorset. Please find below comments from Wool Parish Council, Purbeck District, Dorset.

Wool Parish Council have considered the recommendations by the Boundary Commission for the West Purbeck Ward. It has also taken into consideration representation from other parishes at its parish council meeting.

The Parish Council cannot support the Boundary Commission recommendation for a 3 member ward to include Wool, E.Stoke, Moreton, Affpuddle & Turnerspuddle. It is in sympathy with the outlying rural parishes to feel that they may not be fully represented by this change as Wool with the larger population will have the largest voice. Wool with its larger population also feels that they may in the long term be under represented by this change as efforts of councillors would be diluted to cover all areas in the ward. Wool Parish Council would propose a 3 member Wool Ward for Wool and Bovington alone. The outlying areas would remain as at present with one member wards.

Nickie Johnson Wool Parish Council Clerk

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Skerten, Alex

From: Julie Wright, Clerk to Parish Council Sent: 09 July 2012 12:21 To: Re views@ Subject: Electoral Review of Purbeck EAST LULWORTH PARISH COUNCIL

Dear Mr Skerton

Re: Electoral Review of Purbeck

Thank you for your letter informing the Parish Council of the draft recommendations from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

East Lulworth Parish Council supports Purbeck District Council’s recommendation for the West Purbeck ward and in these hard financial times it is the most cost effective option.

Kind regards Julie

Mrs Julie Wright Clerk to East Lulworth Parish Council

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Skerten, Alex

From: Hin ds, Alex Sent: 09 July 2012 14:57 To: Skerten, Alex Subject: FW: Purbeck electoral Review Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Re d

Alex Hinds Review Assistant Local Government Boundary Commission for England 76-86 Turnmill Street London EC1M 5LG Tel: 020 7664 8534 | Fax: 020 7296 6227 Email: [email protected] Web: www.lgbce.org.uk

 Think of the environment...please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to

From: East Stoke Parish Council [mailto: ] Sent: 09 July 2012 14:54 To: Reviews@ Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: Purbeck electoral Review

EAST STOKE PARISH COUNCIL

Charlecote Holme Lane Wareham BH20 6AP

5 July 2012 Review Officer Purbeck Review The Local Government Boundary Commission for England Layden House 76-86 Turnmill Street London EC1M 5LG

Dear Sirs,

Re: The New Electoral Arrangements for Purbeck District Council

Thank you for the copy of the draft recommendations for the new electoral arrangement s fo r Purbeck District Council and the associated maps.

East Stoke Parish Council we lcomes the oppo rtunity t o make comment on these proposals which were discussed at a n extraordinary meeting of th e Parish Council on 28 th June 2012. In addition to the Parish Councillors some thirty members of the public, our District Councillor and three District Councillors from the adjacent wards were in attendance. The Parish Council would like to record that we had to hold an extraordinary me eting because the information packs arrived too late for the June meeting and to wait until our July mee ting would have left

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insufficient time to collate our response. We would ask that you note this is unfair in the democratic process to allow so little time f or the consultation period a point t hat was raised by the public at o ur meeting.

The consolidated response of East St oke Parish Council which takes int o account the views of the members of the public attending the meeting or who have made representati ons to councillors is to strongly object to the proposal to move East Stoke int o Wool Ward for the reasons detailed in the subsequent paragraphs.

The objections and comments on the proposal are linked to the criteria laid down in the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s guidance.

1. Electoral Equality a. The Parish Council and residents feel that undue weight has been given to this criterion by the Commission at the expense of properly meeting the other criteria. b. This is de monstrated by the proposa l to return East Stoke back to Wool Ward from which it was moved at the last Boundary Review in 1997. c. The Parish Council were concerned that the Commission decided to use different figures for projected electorate to those used by Purbeck District Council. The latter were based on the Core Strategy projections and which this Parish Council has been consulted on. d. The very rural nature of our community as a collection of small hamlets most of which sits in the AONB, is heathland, farm l and or military traini ng area l imits development opportunity. This equally applies to the other component parishes of West Purbeck additionally we have a significant number of properties which a re second or ho liday homes. e. All of these factors mean residential density is low apart from West Lulworth village and spread over a wide geographical area. This should allow for its own weighting to enable dedicated representation at District level. 2. Community Identity a. Having been moved into West Purbeck, East Stoke has strengthened its identity within the rural community and in relationships with the other parishes in the Ward. b. The military ranges provide a common link between all the parishes in West Purbeck Ward. c. The farming communitie s overlap between the parishes particularly with the tenanted farmers. d. There is a lot of common community involvement through social even ts such as history group meetings, East Stoke fet e, fete and harvest festival, East Holme street fair, Bestival in East Lulworth and the recent West Lulworth fishing festival. e. Whilst there is some connection with Wool as an adjacent parish through schools and shops for example, th ere is no real con nection at all with the parishes of Moreton and Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle. f. It is the case that th ere is some synergy with the residents of Co logne Road as an immediate neighbou r and we have a history of liaison with them through Wool Parish Council over school reorganisation, traffic and road safety issues on th e C6 as well as planning matters relating to Monkey World. The District Council’s proposal to ward Wool Parish and include the Cologne Road area is therefore seen as less tha n ideal but preferable to moving East Stoke into Wool Ward. g. The last County Boundary review moved East Stoke f rom Egdon Heath Division into which has reinforced our connections to the south and east. h. The Parish particularly do not wish to be separated from East Holme because: i. East Stoke Parish ha s been closely linked to East Ho lme for ce nturies and was a discrete co mbined ecclesiastical parish until the closure of the East Stoke church in 1988. ii. West Holme which is part of East Stoke Parish further reinforces that link. iii. People from East Stoke worship in East Holme church since St Mary’s in East Stoke closed and East Stoke residents are buried in East Holme churchyard. iv. The Holme Estate (a major employer) has their offices in East Stoke. v. The East Stoke War Memorial commemo rates the dea d of the two World Wars for both communities.

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vi. The East Stoke village hall was until recently managed by a resident from East Holme and both communities seek to obtain a new facility for the community and have contributed to fundraising. vii. The Parish Council felt that the proposal to move East Holme into Creech Barrow Ward wa s for convenience as it was an “orphan” once West Purbeck Ward had been broken up.

3. Effective and convenient Local Government a. The Parish Council felt strongly that the creation of a three member ward with the large urban village of Wool bordered by the rural communities of East Stoke, Moret on and Affpuddle an d Turn erspuddle would not enab le the electorate to ident ify with “their” councillor. b. The Parish Council and resident s felt that the satellite parishes in the new ward would not have the numbers to stand a chance of electing a re presentative from the rural community and will be disenfranchised. This view is supported by past experience when East Stoke was previously part of Wool Ward and the councillors returned always came from Wool. Since East Stoke was moved into West Purbeck the councillor returned has not come from any one parish. c. At the Parish Council meeting a resident pointed out that at the May 2012 elections the turnout was just 29.80% in Wool and equating to 1104 elect ors. This exceeds the combined total of possible electors in East Stoke, Moreton and Af fpuddle & Turnerspuddle demonstrating that the val ue of the rural vot e will carry little weight compared to that of the urban majority. d. Conversely the Pa rish Councillors agreed that the representation within Wool could be diluted if members focused on issues in the other three parishes. e. It was f elt at the meeting that three councillors attending four parish council meetings was duplication of effort an d not effective and convenient government. Furthermo re there was scope for each member to interpret and represent the parish view in different ways particularly where different political parties were concerned. f. The alternative to the above is that the councillo rs could come to an unoffi cial warding arrangement where t hey divide the representative responsibilities amongst themselves which would defeat the electoral equality objective. g. The arguments which were put forward at the last boundary review against the creation of a large mixed ward based on Wool Parish still hold good today and the Parish Council believes the Commission having accepted them then should take note of this. h. The parishes within West Purbeck share good communications links throughout the ward. This would not be the case in either the proposed Wool or Winfrith Wards. i. A number of residents commented on the cost of this exercise for what they see as no real tangible benefit to the community.

Finally a general comment was made several times that East Stoke has been or will potentially be, moved in the last three local government boundary reviews and this is not in the best interests of involving the residents in electoral reform. Thus th ey feel like pawn s in a game played by a distant and unelected body that needs to listen to local views.

In summary East Stoke Parish Council in re flecting local views believe the current electoral arrangement works well fo r the residents not only of East Stoke but for West Purbeck as a whole and we see no reason for further change. This is particularly so when taken in context within the District where the variance in North can be addressed relatively easily but the rural areas are more challenging.

Thank you for listening to our concerns and East Stoke Parish Council hopes that you will give due consideration to the views expressed in this letter when determining your final recommendations.

Yours faithfully

09/07/2012 Page 4 of 4

Mrs Julie Ann Wright Clerk to East Stoke Parish Council

Cc Purbeck District Council – Democratic Services Officer Parish Councillors

09/07/2012

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Skerten, Alex

From: Karen Wright [ Sent: 18 July 2012 08:31 To: Skerten, Alex Cc: Paul Johns; Subject: Electoral Review of Purbeck: Draft Recommendations Dear Alex

Further to our conversation last week, and the agreed extension time to respond to the review, our council’s view is as follows:‐

Lytchett Minster and Upton Town Council considers that communities of Organford and should not be joined with the St Martin Ward for the following reasons:

1. The residents of Organford and Slepe have no connections with St Martin, their connections for schools, health, dentistry, library, shopping and community facilities are all in Lytchett Minster and Upton.

2. These communities have long been part of the LM&U Parish, one resident has provided to us evidence of a deed that ‐ ‘sold “Irgant House” as a “Organt House” (now Organford Manor) to the Pike family in 1703. They owned it until they sold it in 1836 to Thomas Cox (from whom Ann Harrison is descended).

The deed makes it quite clear that the house ‘was in Irgant within the Parish of Lytchett Minster’. In other words, Organford is merely an area of Lytchett Minster.

3. The change would unnecessarily split the long established communities and mean that Organford and Slepe families would be represented on Purbeck District Council by a District Councillor who would have no connection with the interests of their communities.

4. The proposal to split these long established communities is not justified in order to make a slight variation on the electoral equality figures for St Martin. If the Commission is satisfied to accept an electoral variance of ‐11% in Swanage, there is no reason not to accept the same variance for the St Martin Ward.

5. The proposed change would create electoral inequality of representation on the Lytchett Minster and Upton Town Council. The Town Council would be warded into three areas, with the Organford and Slepe areas having 120 electorate and a variance of ‐71%. 6. Representations referred to the Council from residents demonstrate that the communities would be unhappy with the proposed changes and wish to remain with and maintain existing links with the Lytchett Minster and Upton communities

Lytchett Minster and Upton Town Council hold a strong view that Organford and Slepe areas should remain as part of the Lytchett Minster and Upton West Ward.

Once again, thank you for the extension time and for taking the views of this council in to consideration when carrying out this review.

Regards

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Karen Wright AILCM Town Clerk Lytchett Minster and Upton Town Council

Tel: 01202 632070 Fax: 01202 632150 www.lytchettminsterandupton-tc.gov.uk Please note new email address:

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