Review Officer (Derbyshire) The Local Government Boundary Commission for England Layden House 76-86 Turnmill Street LONDON E-mail: [email protected] EC1M 5LG Date: 5 June 2012 Dear Mr Lawrence Derbyshire Electoral Review: Consultation Response on Draft Recommendations for New Electoral Arrangements The 6 District Councillors, representing the wards which together cover the Parish of Eckington, wish to make the following comments on the proposals following the review of the Derbyshire County Council electoral divisions. Do the proposed divisions reflect local communities? The LGBC proposal would split the Parish of Eckington between: Proposed Division Eckington Parish Other Parishes Killamarsh and Spinkhill Part of Eckington South Killamarsh East Renishaw and Spinkhill Killamarsh West Apperknowle Ridgeway and Marsh Lane Part of Coal Aston Eckington North Unstone Part of Eckington South In Medieval times Eckington was an agricultural settlement, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, as Echintune. The Parish Church of Eckington, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is located around a quarter of a mile to the north of the town centre is considered to be of exceptional architectural merit and was largely constructed between the 12th and 13th century. From the 17th century the history of Eckington is largely interwoven with the Sitwell family who erected Renishaw Hall in 1625 and is located just over half a mile to the south east of the town centre. In the 17th century the Sitwell’s ironworks (many of which were located in the parish) dominated the world markets for iron nails. By the mid to late 19th century Eckington had been transformed and was approaching the size of a small town and a number of coal mines operated in the area. Today the heritage value of Eckington town centre is recognised by its inclusion within the boundary of the ‘Eckington and Renishaw Conservation Area’ which seeks to protect and enhance the character of the town centre and the surrounding area1. 1 Eckington Town Centre Development Framework, Supplementary Planning Document http://www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk/business/urban-design-academy/eckington-town-centre-development www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk The proposals from LGBC take a small part of Eckington together with Renishaw and Spinkhill and combines these areas with Killamarsh. The rest of Eckington together with Marsh Lane and Ridgeway are then combined with Unstone and Coal Aston. These proposals do not reflect local communities. The heart of Eckington Town Centre is divorced from its Church and residential core and the Parish of Eckington, grown as a unit over many centuries, is torn apart. The District Councillors can see the logic in combining the Eckington area with Killamarsh into an electoral division. Both these towns have similar regeneration issues, both areas generally seek employment to the north of the district, and all the parish areas of Eckington and Killamarsh are served by the same secondary school which is located on the outskirts of Eckington between Eckington and Marsh Lane. However, the links with Unstone are weak. There are no established links between these two communities and cannot be accessed easily by public transport. The North East Derbyshire District Council Draft Housing Strategy2 states The majority of the district’s population live within the district’s four main towns of Dronfield, Eckington and Killamarsh in the north, and Clay Cross in the south. Each town has a centre with shops, services, leisure and cultural facilities. These towns have roles in providing the economic and social hearts of the district and each contributes to sustainable living and community cohesion. Both the LGBC proposals and the DCC proposals fail to recognise the community of Eckington which, as has been evidenced above, is both long, historic and still exists today. How do you think the proposals can be improved whilst maintaining electoral equality? It is the belief of the District Councillors that the proposals seek to maintain electoral equality at the expense of community identity. In order to retain that identity and to achieve electoral equality we would advocate that the Boundary Commission considers a 2 seat division containing Killamarsh and the whole of the Parish of Eckington. We would also propose the inclusion of the district council ward of Coal Aston in this division although we recognise that there will be a need for consequential minor boundary changes involving few, if any electors, so as to ensure that the boundary runs along the southern edge of the B6056. The Commission has previously visited the Coal Aston area and satisfied itself that there are communications between Coal Aston and Eckington. We would not support the inclusion of the Unstone ward in the same division as Eckington. The main community of Unstone lies either side of the B6057 and has natural links with Dronfield. There are poor public transport links between Eckington and Unstone and the communities share no common interests of identity. 2 NEDDC Draft Housing Strategy http://www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk/council-democracy/meetings-and-committees/executive/30-may-2012 Appendix 9(b)1 to AGIN 9(b), Page 22 www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk Are the names of the proposed electoral divisions right? The LGBC propose the division names of ‘Killamarsh and Spinkhill’ and ‘Apperknowle’. We would contest the removal from the democratic map of Derbyshire the historic market town of Eckington and the larger settlement of Renishaw. If the current LGBC proposals were to be adopted we would advocate the names of ‘Killamarsh and Renishaw’ instead of ‘Killamarsh and Spinkhill’ and ‘Eckington with Unstone’ instead of ‘Apperknowle’. If our preferred 2 seat division was to be adopted we would recommend the name of ‘Eckington and Killamarsh’ which is consistent with the parish nomenclature and incorporates the smaller settlements within them. We are aware that the Parish Councils of Eckington and Killamarsh have made separate representations to the Boundary Commission. We note and support these submissions for the County Divisions and the rewarding arrangements for the Parish of Eckington. Yours sincerely Jane Austen Clive Hunt Jack Dargue Jacqueline Ridgway Eckington North Councillors Eckington South Councillors Brian Ridgway Michael Gordon Renishaw Councillor Marsh Lane and Ridgeway Councillor www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk .