Parish and Town Council submissions to the Stafford Borough Council electoral review This PDF document contains 6 Submissions from Parrish and Town Councils. Some versions of Adobe allow the viewer to move quickly between bookmarks. Click on the submission you would like to view. If you are not taken to that page, please scroll through the document. From: Fuller, Heather To: Pascoe, Mark Subject: FW: Electoral Review of Stafford - Consultation Comment Date: 07 January 2014 10:50:28 From: Hilderstone Parish Council Clerk [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 07 January 2014 09:54 To: Reviews@ Subject: Electoral Review of Stafford - Consultation Comment With regards to the consultation on the new ward boundaries for Stafford Borough, Hilderstone Parish Council would like to submitt the following comment agreed at the last Parish Council meeting on 27th November 2013: Hilderstone Parish Council wishes to maintain a link with other rural villages and parishes such as Milwich and feels that it can be best served by a Borough Councillor who will work with villages and parishes with similar issues. Hilderstone Parish Council does not feel that it would be appropriate for it to be in the same ward as a more urban villages and parishes such as Barlaston and Fulford which are more heavily populated and therefore have different issues. If the wards have to increase in size due to the lower number of Councillors, it would prefer that the Milwich ward is merged with the Chartley ward rather than Fulford or Barlaston. Yours faithfully Helen Howie Clerk to Hilderstone Parish Council 3rd December 2013 Clerk to the Council: Mrs Catherine Gill Archie Gall 79, Sycamore Drive Director of Reviews Hixon Local Government Boundary Commission Stafford ST18 0FB for England Tel: 01889 272679 Layden House Email: [email protected] : www.hixon.gov.uk 76 – 86 Turnmill Street London EC1M 5LG Dear Mr Gall Electoral Review for Stafford In your letter to Ian Thompson dated 22nd October you stated that “No substantial arguments were received in opposition to the proposal for 40 members during the public consultation”. Hixon Parish Council would like to make you aware that it objected to the reduction in numbers and gave substantive arguments for its objection: I have given the objection reasons again below for you convenience. Regards Catherine Gill (Mrs) Clerk to Hixon Parish Council “Hixon Parish Council objects to the proposal by Stafford Borough Council to reduce the number of Borough councillors from 59 members to 40 members. The reasons set out by the Borough Council to reduce the number of members are based on two main premises: 1. The number of in-house council services and council employees has reduced in recent years. This has reduced the number of portfolios and scrutiny committees needed by the council and therefore fewer chairman/vice-chairman and committee member opportunities. 2. The Council’s budget has reduced in recent years, thereby increasing the % of the budget set aside for Member allowances etc. This is considered to be unjustifiable. The first reason fails to make a convincing argument because local councillors primarily put themselves forward to represent their community. They do not set out with a desire to chair this committee or that committee, they see themselves as a link between their ward and the council; someone who can make a positive difference when needed. Reducing the number of members by over 1/3rd will only place power in fewer hands and less other members to challenge proposals. The second reason is more “what does this look like compared to historical data” rather than what is the actual difference in the members budget compared to previous years. Percentages can be used to demonstrate all sorts of things. The key issue is “how will a reduction of over a 1/3rd of councillors impact on the ability of the remaining 40 councillors to represent their community?” The increased ward population/member ratio will rise even more, if Stafford Borough population growth forecasts become a reality. And if councillors are all more actively engaged in setting and implementing council business, how will they have the time to listen to their constituents? There is a radical way of resolving the issues and maintaining all 59 councillors: · Reducing member numbers from 59 to 40 will ‘save’ 19 member allowances, equalling, say £60,000. · Alternatively, ask members to agree a £1,000 cut in their basic allowance (as unpaid voluntary work) equalling a £59,000 saving. After all, the coalition government is constantly promoting the importance of volunteers, voluntary groups and community organisations to undertake work for free. Hixon Parish Council trusts its comments will be given due consideration.” 30th December 2013 Clerk to the Council: Mrs Catherine Gill 79, Sycamore Drive The Local Government Boundary Hixon Commission for England Stafford ST18 0FB 3rd Floor Tel: 01889 272679 Email: [email protected] Layden House Web: www.hixon.gov.uk – 76 86 Tummill Street London EC1M 5LG For the attention of Mr Mark Pascoe, Review Officer Dear Mr Pascoe Re: Electoral Review of Stafford I refer to your letter dated 22nd October 2013, in which you invited Hixon Parish Council to express a view or make initial representations with respect to the above. Although Hixon Parish Council remains opposed to the reduction of Stafford Borough Councillors by nearly a third, from 59 to 40 members, the Council considered your letter of the 22nd October at its meeting on Tuesday 18th December 2013. I am instructed to make the following observations and proposals on behalf of Hixon Parish Council. Hixon Parish Council recommends re-drawing the existing Hixon & Haywoods ward boundary and existing Chartley ward boundary to create a new Stafford Chartley borough ward comprising the parishes of Hixon, Stowe-by-Chartley and Gayton. The following information is provided in support of the recommendation. Comments on Electoral Roll data provided by Stafford Borough Council Hixon Parish Council challenges the reliability of these numbers and forecasts. According to Electoral data provided by Stafford Borough Council, there are 1486 people on the electoral roll in Hixon parish. The 2011 Census showed the population of Hixon Parish as being 1,917 of which 364 were under 16 years old. Therefore 1,553 over 16 years old in the spring of 2011. It would be realistic to suggest that a similar number, or more, would be of voting age as of now, December 2013, but not all on the Electoral Roll. In other words the adult population of Hixon may be understated 70 or more. Also, according to the same electoral roll data provided by Stafford Borough Council, the number of electors in Hixon is forecast to fall to 1467 by 2019. Nineteen people fewer than 2013. This forecast appears to ignore the fact that Hixon has been designated by Stafford Borough Council planners as a ‘Key Service Village’ – one of eight or nine rural settlements in Stafford borough deemed to be capable of sustainable development over the period of the emerging Plan for Stafford. Key Service Villages and other rural settlements will be expected to accommodate some 1200 to 2000 new build housing developments over the next 18 to 20 years. Hixon Parish Council believes the share of that requirement within the Hixon parish area should be in the order of 125 to 150 new build properties over the same period. It is therefore quite clear that a more logical forecast for the number of people living in Hixon parish area in 2019 and beyond is likely to INCREASE rather than decrease. To emphasise this point, there are currently planning applications for over 100 new build housing developments in Hixon. This anomaly in the data provided by Stafford Borough Council needs to be addressed before any final decision can be made on future Ward boundaries. I would now like to turn explicitly to the five areas that you request need to be considered in responding: 1. Councillor/elector ratio; 2. Reflects community identities and interests; 3. Strong and easily identifiable boundaries; 4. Provides for effective and convenient local government; 5. Provide evidence to back up the above. 1. Councillor/elector ratio It is calculated that a reduced number of Stafford Borough Councillors will result in an average of 2,463 electors per Councillor across Stafford Borough. It is believed that a variation of + or – 10% of this mean would be acceptable. (i.e.) 2,217 to 2,709 electors per councillor. According to Electoral data provided by Stafford Borough Council, there are 1486 people on the electoral roll in Hixon parish. However, as outlined above, this figure could actually be underestimated by about 70 or more than the actual total of ‘adults.’ Hixon Parish Council and the neighbouring Stowe-by-Chartley Council are very closely related, both geographically and historically. According to data provided by Stafford Borough Council, the number of people on the Electoral Roll in Stowe-by-Chartley parish area in 2013 is 315. The same data forecasts the population of Stowe-by-Chartley to rise to 322 by 2019. This is open to challenge as there is no forecast for significant housing development in Stowe-by Chartley parish for the foreseeable future. Notwithstanding any anomalies in the data forecasts provided by Stafford Borough Council, the combined current number of electors in Hixon and Stowe parishes is currently said to be 1486 + 315 = 1801. According to the Stafford Borough Council forecast, the combined number of people on the Hixon and Stowe-by-Chartley electoral rolls in 2019 will be 1467 + 322 = 1789. Because Hixon has been identified as a Key Service Village with development potential, it would not be unrealistic to think that Hixon will probably gain between 100 and 150 new properties (as stated above there are over 100 new properties in Hixon currently in the planning system) over the life of the emerging Plan for Stafford and that most development growth will probably happen over the next ten years (up to 2023).