LGBCE Gloucestershire Review Conservative Group Proposals February 2011 This submission is made on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council. In it we have attempted wherever possible to represent the real communities of Gloucester, within the constraints of electoral equality and co‐terminosity. We believe that this proposal does so in as fair and consistent a manner as possible. In drafting this, we have had the benefit of sight of the proposals from both the Labour Group, with which we differ markedly, and the Liberal Democrat Group submission from Cllr Hilton, their Group Leader. We are pleased to find that, with regards most of the city, our proposals match those of Cllr Hilton, with the exception of three divisions to the East of the city. We think this agreement underlines the efforts that we have gone to in representing the city’s natural communities, rather than purely political or numerical divisions. Whilst we have tried, wherever possible to avoid splitting existing polling districts, it has been some considerable time since the existing polling districts were devised and, in some cases, they no longer reflect communities. We have proposed splitting three polling districts, in Westgate, Quedgeley and Barnwood, to allow for proposals that meet the LGBCE criteria more closely and reflect local communities more accurately. As elector data is only available to us at the polling district level, we have only proposed roughly where these should be divided. If the proposals are accepted, the actual split will have to be devised taking into account electoral equality and, of course, following community consultation. Should more information be required about these proposals, please contact, at first instance, Richard Coates, the Conservative Group’s researcher. Mark Hawthorne Leader Gloucestershire County Council 1 Detailed proposals Longlevens – D1 This division comprises the city council ward of Longlevens, with the addition of polling districts from Elmbridge ward to allow for electoral equality. It represents the Northern suburbs of Gloucester, with a range of broadly similar housing and limited amounts of commercial properties. Kingsholm and Wotton – D2 This area represents the city council ward of Kingsholm and Wotton, with the addition of polling districts from the Elmbridge and Westgate wards. All the areas within this division are part of the existing two‐member county division. This area is composed primarily of residential housing, with flats, terraces and detached houses present in various parts, mostly in private ownership. The polling districts from Elmbridge ward which have been included are primarily privately owned, in comparison to the remainder of the ward, which is primarily local authority and ex‐local authority. City, Moreland and Hempsted – D3 The proposed division is composed of three distinct, but linked communities, Hempsted, City Centre and Moreland. Hempsted is a historic village long discrete from Gloucester. Until the building of the South West bypass (completed 2007) it was isolated from the rest of the city by the canal and the River Severn, with access by two bridges one at Commercial Rd and one at Bristol Road. Recent developments include higher density terraces and flats, whilst older areas are typically composed of detached housing. The area now links directly to Moreland and the City Centre at Gloucester Quays via the bridge at St Annes Way which supersedes both of the previous accesses. 2 The City Centre, which, with Hempstead forms the Westgate ward for Gloucester City Council, includes the historic city of Gloucester, its cathedral and gate streets, as well as Gloucester Park and the streets around it. It comprises a mix of commercial areas and high density terraced housing and flats. There are some areas of significant deprivation, alongside more affluent sections, including significant new dockside developments. Both Hempsted and the city centre are covered by the Gloucester City Centre Community Partnership. For the purposes of maintaining electoral equality in this proposal, we suggest that the Northern part of the current city council ward becomes part of D2 division. This area is currently primarily commercial, and separated from most of the city centre by floodplain and the railway line, with more in common with the residential neighbourhoods in D2 than the city centre. The map line is indicative, as we do not have access to the street by street by elector figures necessary to calculate figures here with precision. The railway line would make an excellent break, if this supports suitable electoral equality. Moreland, or Linden as it is alternatively referred to, is primarily composed of high density terraced housing and flats, centred alongside and to the East of the Bristol Road. It contains some areas of deprivation, as well as more affluent sections. It looks to shops along the Bristol Road, the city centre and the docks development for retail provision, as well as the Sainsbury supermarket in Hempsted. In this proposal, two polling districts have been detached from the Moreland City Council ward, and placed in D4. As well as helping to address issues of electoral equality, this also helps to pull together the community of Barton and Tredworth wholly within the D4 division. Barton and Tredworth – D4 is an area of high density housing in the geographic centre of the current city of Gloucester. It is bounded to the North by Metz Way and to the East by the railway line. It is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Gloucestershire, and has historically suffered from deprivation issues. Most of the proposed division is composed of Gloucester City Council’s Barton ward, which is too small, in itself to compose a county division. However, parts of the City’s Moreland Ward are actually within the historic area of Tredworth, which this proposal reunites. Quedgeley division ‐ D5 encompasses the Quedgeley area. At one time a separate village, Quedgeley retains a distinct identity from the rest of Gloucester. It is physically separated from the city by the industrial and commercial area of Bristol Road to the North West, by the canal to the North East and by the A38 dual 3 carriageway to the West. Quedgeley has its own distinct shopping area, based around the Tesco store in the village (Bristol Road). Quedgeley is characterised by detached housing, with some estate housing to the West. Whilst the area is parished (Quedgeley Parish Council) the area within the parish is both too large to be represented by a single county councillor, and too small to be represented by two. As such, a division is suggested along the A38 dual carriageway. This completely separates the older village of Quedgeley from the new and growing residential development of Kingsway. Kingsway Grange – D6 represents two distinct and identifiable communities to the South of the city. Construction is still ongoing at the newly build Kingsway estate, which contains a mix of estate housing, modern attached housing and flats. It is separated from Quedgeley by the A38 dual carriageway, with no direct vehicle route between the two areas, and only one route for direct pedestrian access. The area has its own residents’ association (Kingsway Village Residents Association). The Grange estate is separated from Kingsway by Daniels Brook, and is part of the current two‐seat Quedgeley division. The area is mostly composed of older estate housing. It centres around Beaufort Secondary School, which is also the nearest secondary school for most students from the Kingsway area. It is represented on Gloucester City Council as the Grange ward, which is entirely within this proposed division. Tuffley, Podsmead and Robinswood – D7 This division is composed of two distinct communities, primarily composing the district wards of Podsmead and Tuffley, with the addition of a polling district from Matson ward to ensure electoral equality. 4 Matson and Coney Hill – D8 This division combines the two distinct communities of Matson and Coney Hill. Both have a substantial proportion of older local authority housing and face issues with deprivation. Abbey‐ D9 This division is centred around the city ward and current County council division of Abbey, with the addition of one polling district from Hucclecote ward and part of one polling district from Barnwood ward to achieve electoral equality. The additional areas are of the same character as the exisiting Abbey Division and are linked in both geographic and community terms. Abbey is one of the newest suburbs of Gloucester. Bordering the city’s M5 eastern boundary, Abbey is a community which has its own strong identity .Within its boundaries it has its own Church, Community Centre , Shopping centre and schools . Barnwood – D10 This Division brings back together the older established communities of Barnwood and Hucclecote situated on either side of Barnwood / Hucclecote Road, the original main access to Gloucester from the East. It includes some new areas from Abbeymead which are most closely linked to the main are to achieve electoral balance. 5 Summary (NB – does not include effect of splitting polling districts!) Division Polldist Ward Pop2010 Pop2016 D1 D1 Elmbridge 874 874 D1 D2 Elmbridge 1187 1192 D1 H1 Longlevens 1708 1713 D1 H2 Longlevens 1236 1238 D1 H3 Longlevens 1329 1329 D1 H4 Longlevens 1256 1258 D1 H5 Longlevens 1382 1382 D1 H6 Longlevens 681 683 D2 D3 Elmbridge 1164 1179 D2 D4 Elmbridge 1274 1276 D2 G1 Kingsholm & Wotton 1209 1222 D2 G2 Kingsholm & Wotton 1963 2008 D2 G3 Kingsholm