Final Recommendations on the Future Electoral Arrangements for Tandridge in Surrey
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE FUTURE ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR TANDRIDGE IN SURREY Report to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions September 1998 LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND This report sets out the Commission’s final recommendations on the electoral arrangements for Tandridge in Surrey. Members of the Commission are: Professor Malcolm Grant (Chairman) Helena Shovelton (Deputy Chairman) Peter Brokenshire Professor Michael Clarke Pamela Gordon Robin Gray Robert Hughes Barbara Stephens (Chief Executive) ©Crown Copyright 1998 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 LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE v SUMMARY vii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 CURRENT ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS 3 3 DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS 7 4 RESPONSES TO CONSULTATION 9 5 ANALYSIS AND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS 11 6 NEXT STEPS 21 APPENDICES A Final Recommendations for Tandridge: Detailed Mapping 23 B Draft Recommendations for Tandridge (March 1998) 29 LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND iii iv LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND Local Government Commission for England September 1998 Dear Secretary of State On 2 September 1997 the Commission began a periodic electoral review of the district of Tandridge under the Local Government Act 1992. We published our draft recommendations for electoral arrangements in March 1998 and undertook an eleven-week period of consultation. We have now prepared our final recommendations in the light of the consultation. We have confirmed our draft recommendations for the District Council in their entirety, although some modifications have been made to parish warding arrangements (see paragraph 64) in the light of further evidence. This report sets out our final recommendations for changes to electoral arrangements in Tandridge. We recommend that Tandridge District Council should be served by 42 councillors representing 20 wards, and that some changes should be made to ward boundaries in order to improve electoral equality, having regard to the statutory criteria. We recommend that elections should continue to take place by thirds. We note that you have now set out in the White Paper Modern Local Government - In Touch with the People (Cm 4014, HMSO), legislative proposals for a number of changes to local authority electoral arrangements. However, until such time as that new legislation is in place we are obliged to conduct our work in accordance with current legislation, and to continue our current approach to periodic electoral reviews. I would like to thank members and officers of the District Council and other local people who have contributed to the review. Their co-operation and assistance have been very much appreciated by Commissioners and staff. Yours sincerely PROFESSOR MALCOLM GRANT Chairman LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND v vi LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND SUMMARY The Commission began a review of Tandridge on ● In 17 of the 20 wards, the number of 2 September 1997. We published our draft electors per councillor would vary by no recommendations for electoral arrangements on more than 8 per cent from the district 17 March 1998, after which we undertook an 11- average. week period of consultation. ● This level of electoral equality is expected to improve, with the number of electors per ● This report summarises the representations councillor in 18 wards projected to vary by we have received during consultation on our no more than 8 per cent from the average by draft recommendations, and offers our final the year 2002. recommendations to the Secretary of State. Recommendations are also made for changes to We found that the existing electoral arrangements parish and town council electoral arrangements. provide unequal representation of electors in They provide for: Tandridge because: ● new warding arrangements for Lingfield and ● in nine of the 21 wards, the number of Dormansland Parish Council. electors represented by each councillor varies by more than 10 per cent from the average for the district, and three wards vary by All further correspondence on these more than 20 per cent from the average; recommendations and the matters discussed in this report should be addressed to the ● by 2002, electoral equality is expected to Secretary of State for the Environment, deteriorate, with the number of electors per Transport and the Regions, who will councillor forecast to vary by more than 10 not make an order implementing the per cent from the average in 11 wards, and Commission’s recommendations before by more than 20 per cent in six wards. 13 October 1998: Our main final recommendations for future The Secretary of State electoral arrangements (Figure 1 and paragraph Department of the Environment, 60) are that: Transport and the Regions Local Government Review ● Tandridge District Council should continue Eland House to be served by 42 councillors, as at present; Bressenden Place ● there should be 20 wards, one fewer than at London SW1E 5DU present; ● the boundaries of 12 of the existing wards should be modified, while nine wards should retain their existing boundaries; ● elections should continue to take place by thirds. These recommendations seek to ensure that the number of electors represented by each district councillor is as nearly as possible the same, having regard to local circumstances. LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND vii Figure 1: The Commission’s Final Recommendations: Summary Ward name Number of Constituent areas Map reference councillors 1 Bletchingley 3 Bletchingley ward (Bletchingley parish); Map A5 & Nutfield Nutfield ward (Nutfield parish) 2 Burstow & Horne 3 Unchanged (the parishes of Burstow Map 2 and Horne) 3 Chaldon 1 Chaldon ward; Queens Park ward (part) Large map 4 Dormans 2 Dormans ward (Dormansland parish Map A3 & Felcourt ward and Baldwins Hill parish ward of Lingfield and Dormansland parish; Lingfield & Crowhust ward (part – Lingfield parish ward (part) of Lingfield and Dormansland parish) 5 Felbridge 1 Unchanged (Felbridge parish) Map 2 6 Godstone 3 Unchanged (Godstone parish) Map 2 7 Harestone 2 Unchanged Large map (in Caterham) 8 Limpsfield 2 Unchanged (Limpsfield parish) Map 2 9 Lingfield 2 Lingfield & Crowhurst ward (part – Map A3 & Crowhurst Lingfield parish ward (part) of Lingfield and Dormansland parish; Crowhurst parish) 10 Oxted North 3 Unchanged (North ward of Oxted parish Map 2 & Tandridge and Tandridge parish) 11 Oxted South 3 Unchanged (South ward of Oxted parish) Map 2 12 Portley 2 Portley ward; Westway ward (part) Large map (in Caterham) 13 Queens Park 2 Queens Park ward (part); Westway ward Large map (in Caterham) (part) 14 Tatsfield & Titsey 1 Chelsham & Farleigh, Tatsfield & Titsey Map A2 ward (part – the parishes of Tatsfield and Titsey) 15 Valley 2 Unchanged Large map (in Caterham) viii LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND Figure 1 (continued): The Commission’s Final Recommendations: Constituent areas Ward name Number of Constituent areas Map reference councillors 16 Warlingham East 3 Warlingham East ward; Chelsham & Map A2 & Chelsham Farleigh, Tatsfield & Titsey ward & Farleigh (part – Chelsham & Farleigh parish) 17 Warlingham West 2 Warlingham West ward; Whytleafe ward Map A2 (part) 18 Westway 2 Westway ward (part) Large map (in Caterham) 19 Whyteleafe 2 Whyteleafe ward (part) Large map 20 Woldingham 1 Unchanged Map 2 Notes: 1 The area to the north of the M25 (the wards of Chaldon, Godstone, Harestone, Portley, Queen’s Park, Valley, Warlingham East, Warlingham West, Westway, Whyteleafe and Woldingham) is entirely unparished. 2 Map 2, the maps at Appendix A and the large map at the back of the report illustrate the proposed wards outlined above. LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ix x LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND 1. INTRODUCTION 1 This report contains our final recommendations on the electoral arrangements for the district of Tandridge in Surrey. 2 In undertaking these reviews, we have had regard to: ● the statutory criteria in section 13(5) of the Local Government Act 1992; ● the Rules to be Observed in Considering Electoral Arrangements in Schedule 11 to the Local Government Act 1972. 3 We have also had regard to our Guidance and Procedural Advice for Local Authorities and Other Interested Parties (published in March 1996 and updated in March 1998), which sets out our approach to the reviews. 4 This review was in four stages. Stage One began on 2 September1997, when we wrote to Tandridge District Council inviting proposals for future electoral arrangements. We also notified Surrey County Council, Surrey Police Authority, the local authority associations, the Surrey Association of Local Councils, parish councils in the district, the Member of Parliament and the Member of the European Parliament with constituency interests in the district, and the headquarters of the main political parties. We placed a notice in the local press, issued a press release and other publicity, and invited the District Council to publicise the review further. The closing date for