Local Government Boundary Commission For England Report No. 390 LOCAL GOVERSKHTT BOUNDARY COMMISSION FOR E CHAIRMAN Sir Nicholas Morrison KC3 DEPUTY CRAIHKAU Mr J M Hankin M5MBERS Lady Borden Mr J T Brocktank Mr R S Thornton CBE. DL Mr D P Harrison Professor G E Cherry To the. Rt Hon.William Whitelaw, CH KG MP Secretary of State for the Home Department PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE SLiKTORAL AKHAIIG-S-iZNTS TOR THE COUNTY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 1. The last Order under Section 51 of the Local Government Act 1972 in relation to electoral arrangements for districts in the county of Hertfordshire was made' on 29 November 1978. As required by Section 63 and Schedule 9 of the Act we have now reviewed the electoral arrangements for that county, using the procedures we had set out in our Report No 6. 2. We informed the Hertfordshire County Council in a consultation letter dated 30 April 1979 that we proposed to conduct the review, and sent copies of the lettei to all local authorities and parish meetings in the county, to the MPs representing the constituencies concerned, to the headquarters of the main political parties and to the editors both of local newspauers circulating in the county and of the local government press. Notices in the local press announced the start of the review and invited comments from"members of the public and from interested bodies. 3. On 20 September 1979 the County Council submitted to us a draft scheme in which they suggested 77 electoral divisions for the county, each returning one member in accordance with Section 6(2)(a) of the Act. ^. We considered this"scheme together with the views expressed by local interests. On 1J February 1980 we issued draft proposals which we sent to all those who had received our consultation letter, or commented on the County Council's draft scheme. Notices were inserted in the local press announcing that the draft proposals had been issued and could-be inspected at the County Council's offices. 5. We based our draft proposals on the County Council's draft scheme, though we made certain modifications designed to improve the balance between divisions or districts. Several of these modifications were derived frcm local comments made about the draft scheme. 6. The modifications we made were as follows: (a) Broxbourne District We renamed the County Council's proposed 'Cheshunt South East' electoral division 'Waltham Cross1. (b) Hertsmere District We replaced the 7 electoral divisions proposed by the County Council by an alternative scheme for 7 divisions proposed by the Hertsmere District Labour Party. (c) North Hertfordshire District V.'e renamed the County Council's proposed St Paul's electoral division 'Knebworth and Codicote1. (d) St Albans District We replaced 6 of the 10 electoral divisions proposed by the County Council by 6 divisions proposed by the St Albans Constituency Labour Party. 7- We received comments in response to our draft proposals from the County Council, three district councils, five parish councils, two town councils, .four district councillors, one parish councillor, twenty-six political associations, two residents/ratepayers' associations, one pensioners' association and "forty-eight individuals. A list of those who wrote to us is given at Appendix 1 to this Report. 8. The Hertfordshire County Council accepted our draft proposals for all districts with the exception of Hertsmere and St Albans. With regard to Hertsmere they contended that the arrangements in their draft scheme were preferable to those in our draft proposals as they followed recognised boundaries, particularly in the Potters Bar area, preserved the historical connection between Elstree and Borehamwood and kept the village of Radlett within a single division. The County Council also stated that the inequalities of representation contained -in their draft scheme for Hertsmere would be mitigated by alterations in planned development,"__. though complete revised forecast figures of electorate for the areas involved were not available and the full implications of these alterations could not be examined in detail 9.- In relation to the St Albans District the County Council contended that our draft proposals had no numerical advantage over their original scheme, which had avoided splitting the Parish of Sandridge and combining rural and urban wards in the same division. 10. The other comments we received can be summarised as follows: (a) The Hertfordshire County Conservative Federation and the East Hertfordshire Conservative and Unionist Association both objected to our draft proposals for the Hertsmere and St Albans districts and supported the draft scheme put forward by the County Council. (b) Hertfordshire County Labour Party supported our draft proposals and in particular the proposals for Hertsmere and St Albans. (c) Dacoruia District Dacor^m District Council, the Hemel Hempstead Constituency Conservative Association, the Berkhamsted Branch of the Young Conservatives and four private individuals wrote in support of our draft proposals. Another private individual wrote suggesting alternative names for the Bridgewater electoral division. (d) East Hertfordshire District East Hertfordshire District Council submitted no observations or. our draft proposals. Little Hadham Parish Council wished their parish to be transferred from the Braughing to the Sawbridgeworth electoral division. The East Herts Constituency Liberal Association and the East Herts Divisional Liberal Association independently put forward the same alternative scheme for the Bishop's Stortford area. A private individual suggested'that the prefix 'Hertford' be placed before the names of the St Andrews and All Saints electoral divisions to avoid confusion with ecclesiastical parishes of the same name, and also reiterated suggestions he had previously made for the rearrangement of the district wards forming the Hertford electoral divisions, (e)" Hertsmere District The Hertsmere Borough Council objected to our draft proposals for" all the electoral divisions in the district on the grounds that they' used poor boundaries, and supported the draft scheme put forward by the County Council. Cllr M Colne, on behalf of the Bushey Liberal Association, objected to the Watling, Aldenhara and Bushey Heath electoral divisions and supported the County Council's draft scheme0 The South Hertfordshire Conservative Association objected to our draft proposals for the Potters Bar, Aldenham, Elstree and Bushey areas and supported the County Council's draft scheme. The North Bushey Residents' Association, Pensioners' Voice (North Bushey Branch) and a private individual all objected to Bushey being included in the Aldenham electoral division on the grounds that the two areas were too diverse for one county councillor to represent satisfactorily. The South Hertfordshire Division Liberal Association put forward their own alter- native to the Aldenham, Borehamwood West and Borehamwood East electoral divisions'* Aldenhara Parish Council, the Radlett Ratepayers1 Association, the Radlett Branch - of the South Herts Conservative Association, Borough Cllr G A Nunn, Parish Councillor GDC Hicks and thirty-six.- individuals all objected to the proposals for the Aldenhara and Watling electoral divisions on the grounds, broadly, that they divided up the Aldenham and Radlett areas. Most of these comments, either directly or by implication, favoured the draft scheme put forward by the County Councilo Five separate Potters Bar branches of the south Herts Conservative Association preferred the County Council's draft scheme, opposing our draft pro- posals for the Potters Bar area mainly on the grounds that they ignored well established electoral boundaries. Our draft proposals were supported by Elstree Town Council, Potters Bar Liberal Association, South Herts Constituency Labour Party (Borehaihwood Members' Branch), the South Herts Constituency Labour Party, Cllr J Nolan and four private individuals. (f) North Hertfordshire District Royston Town Council wished us to include some of the surrounding rural parishes with the town itself in the Royston electoral division. Hitchin Constituency Labour Party put forward suggestions for an adjustment to the boundary between two divisions in the town of Hitchin; and Cllr M Stears proposed the transfer of the parish of Kings Walden from the Offa to the Knebsworth and Codicote electoral division. (g) St Albans District St Albans City Council made no observations on our draft proposals which received support from London Colney and Redbourn Parish Councils, Batchwood Branch (St Albans) Labour Party, St Albans Constituency Labour Party, St Stephens Branch Labour Party, St Albans Constituency Labour Party, Redbourn Branch, St Peters Branch Labour Party and two private individuals • Redbourn Parish Council expressing particular opposition to being included in an electoral division with Wheathampstead Parish as they would have been in the County Council's draft scheme. Our proposals were opposed by the Sandridge Parish Council and the St Albans Constituency Conservative Association, who preferred the draft scheme for the reasons advanced by the County Council and referred to in paragraph 9 above. (h) Stevenage District Stevenage Borough Council had no observations to make and the only comment received in relation to this district was from Cllr James Boyd, Leader of the Conservative Group, Stevenage Borough Council, who supported our draft proposals. (j) Watford District Watford Borough Council supported our draft proposals for the district. 11.