Great Sankey North Boundary Proposal In the original boundaries brief, an emphasis was placed on keeping areas with a sense of “community” together. This proposal identifies some areas of Great Sankey which satisfy this criteria and need to be retained by Great Sankey North. 1. The existing situation The first map shows the existing situation. The orange area is Great Sankey North and the green is the part of Great Sankey South for which we are concerned. The area below them is part of Penketh and Cuerdley. Existing Boundary Historical centre of Sankey The existing boundary on the left originally ran across green fields, but unfortunately now cuts across two estates which were only built 17 years ago. However, the bulk of both these estates are in Great Sankey North and the whole area is separated from Penketh by a railway line with only one bridge access. 2. Councils initial proposal The second map shows Warrington Councils submission. For the most part it is an excellent proposal. However, we have an issue with the lower boundary running along the A57 Liverpool Rd. The road is housed on both sides and represents a community in itself and the proposed boundary cuts right through the historical centre of Sankey. Historical centre of Sankey 3. Areas for consideration This third map identifies two areas that should be in Great Sankey North. Blue area containing historical centre We propose that the green area be retained and slightly expanded from the existing situation (adding only a nominal number of properties). The railway line provides a very clear and immovable boundary with only one bridge for access to Penketh. This area contains the roads around Hadleigh Close, Elmsett Close, Southwold Crescent, Edward Road and Friends Lane. As an example of community, a mini-market is being built in this area and all discussions have been around serving Sankey North. Therefore, it seems strange to even consider it as part of another Ward. The blue area contains the houses on both sides of the A57 Liverpool Rd, Whitethorn Ave, Highfield Ave and Barnes Close. These last roads are only accessible from the A57 and like the area north of the railway line have nothing to do with Penketh. The Liverpool Rd (A57) is the artery by which Great Sankey has grown around. It is not a boundary and we cannot divide one of the few historic parts of our town. In this way we can retain the historical centre so we propose that these retained in Great Sankey. Whilst these transfers in houses will affect the counts for Penketh and Great Sankey North, this scheme has been modelled by the Warrington Boundaries Team and does not send either of the Wards concerned into the red. These are also very stable areas in terms of numbers so should be “future proofed”. We are currently working on projects for the whole of the A57 identified on these maps with the goal to improve the area. Splitting the community down the middle would make our work much more difficult. 4. Conclusion Many arguments have been put forward regarding the new ward boundaries. However, these mostly centre around numbers required for balanced representation. We are requesting your consideration to keep both historical and new communities together and help them grow. We therefore propose that in the west area of Great Sankey North, the railway line is used as the boundary. We also request that houses on both sides of the A57 Liverpool Rd as well as roads that are only accessible from the A57 are kept within Great Sankey North. Both these requests have been modelled by the Warrington Boundaries Team and result in acceptable numbers for all wards affected. Our desire is to keep communities together. People in the areas outlined definitely see themselves as part of Great Sankey. Thank you for your consideration Councillor Andy Heaver and Councillor Dan Price Representing Great Sankey North .