Local Boundary Commission for England Consultation Portal Page 1 of 1 Winchester District Personal Details: Name: Stephen Godfrey E-mail: [email protected] Postcode: SO21 3EH Organisation Name: Conservative Associations for Meon Valley and Winchester Feature Annotations 1: Conservative Association Submission Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database rights 2013. Map Features: Annotation 1: Conservative Association Submission Comment text: Attached is the submission on boundaries for Winchester City Council, submitted on behalf of Winchester Conservative Association, Meon Valley Conservative Association and all Councillors on Winchester City Council that belong to one of these Associations. Do let me know if you have any questions about this submission. I have also submitted the same proposal via email Uploaded Documents: Download https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/print/informed-representation/4219 04/11/2014 JOINT SUBMISSION BY WINCHESTER AND MEON VALLEY CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATIONS General Remarks This submission is made on behalf of the Meon Valley Conservative Association and the Winchester Conservative Association and all the Councillors on Winchester City Council that are members of one of these associations. The need for this electoral review of Winchester City Council has been brought about by the increasing electorate variances in several wards, but particularly in Southwick and Boarhunt ward. The slippage in the timescales for delivering the new major developments, known as West of Waterlooville, have failed to add the expected electorate to this ward. Now that these developments are progressing and two other major developments – at North Whiteley and Barton Farm – are about to start, there is greater certainty that the number of electors in the Winchester City Council area will increase quite rapidly. Between now and 2020, these major developments are forecast to add at least 7,000 new electors to the electoral roll. In addition, a proportion of the 2000 new homes that have been allocated for building in the 6 larger settlements in the district will also add to the electorate during this period, but, as planning permission has not yet been granted, these are not included in the current forecasts. With much greater certainty now in the growth of the electorate over the next 5 years, and having a strong desire to provide as consistent a level of representation as possible for the next 5+ years, this submission sets out proposals that use the forecast electorate figures for 2020 to calculate the most accurate number of electors for each ward. This submission achieves very small variances by taking this approach, which will deliver more equal levels of representation for a longer period as well as delivering an effective distribution of wards. To achieve reasonable levels of variance from the district average, it is necessary to use 3-member wards in most cases, particularly in those areas that include any part of the major developments at West of Waterlooville, North Whiteley and Barton Farm. By aiming for the average 3-member ward size of 6,700 electors per ward in 2020, it is possible to make these new 3-member wards manageable in the intervening period, as the new housing would only add to the already considerable housing in each ward. If one-member or two-member wards are used in these major development areas, either these wards will start from being hugely under the average number of electors or end up being hugely over the average in 2020, as the new development will form a far greater proportion of the whole of that ward. To ensure that the wards near the major development areas can properly reflect the existing and emerging communities and so that the community cohesion is not lost over time, this submission proposes 3 one-member wards across the district. Although it is possible to have 15 three-member wards and still achieve reasonable levels of elector variance, it is not possible for this solution to do so without breaking up at least one well-established community. A note on the maps Our maps contain Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2014 and used under the Open Data licence. Colour shading is used to show wards. Polling district boundaries are shown as orange lines. These have been crudely digitised and are for illustrative purposes only. A map showing all proposed rural wards is at the end of this document. Page 1 of 22 JOINT SUBMISSION BY WINCHESTER AND MEON VALLEY CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATIONS Summary of the Proposed Ward Boundaries Ward Name Existing Polling Electorate in Variance from Number of Districts Ward District average Councillors in Included Ward Dever Valley XH, XI, HJ, YZ 2352 5.33% 1 Alresfords and Itchen WC, WD, WY, Valley WZ,XB, XK, XL, 7023 4.84% 3 XM, XN, XZ Kings Worthy XA, XD, XE, WW 6738 0.58% 3 and part of XV Winchester Downlands WP, XG, XX, WX, XO and 6726 0.40% 3 part of XV and part of WM Colden Common, Twyford WK, WL, XP, YA 6591 -1.61% 3 and Otterbourne and part of WM St Barnabas XF, YG, YH, YY 6981 4.21% 3 St Paul YX, YW, YP, YQ3 6742 0.64% 3 St Luke WA, YQ1, YQ2, YR, YV and part 6453 -3.67% 3 of YU St Michael YL, YO, YS, YT 6675 -0.36% 3 and part of YU St Bartholomew YI, YJ, YK, YM, 6720 0.31% 3 YN Owslebury and Cheriton WB, WH, WI, 2157 -3.40% 1 WJ, XC, XQ Upper Meon Valley WN, WO, WT, 2242 0.40% 1 YC, YD Bishops Waltham and WE, WF, YB 6107 -8.84% 3 Upham Whiteley and Shedfield YE, WQ, WU, 7056 5.33% 3 XR1, XR2 Central Meon Valley WV, XS, XT, XU, 6561 -2.06% 3 XY Wickham and Bere Forest YF1, YF2, YF3, WG, XW and 6889 2.84% 3 part of West of Waterlooville Denmead XS, XR1, XR2 and part of 6471 -3.40% 3 West of Waterlooville Page 2 of 22 JOINT SUBMISSION BY WINCHESTER AND MEON VALLEY CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATIONS 1. Dever Valley ward The existing parishes of Micheldever and Wonston (which are represented by the 4 existing polling districts of XH, XI, XJ and YZ) contain many small settlements on either side of the Dever River, stretching from East Stratton to Sutton Scotney. The residents of these settlements share many facilities, including Anglican parish, GP surgeries, schools and societies. There are two roads either side of the Dever that join most of the settlements. Residents of these settlements share a rural lifestyle, including many small employment sites employing many local residents. These parishes are both many miles from any significant large settlement, having little historic connection to adjoining parishes (although South Wonston used to be part of the Wonston benefice, but that ceased some 8 years ago). There are forecast to be 2332 electors in 2020 in this ward, giving a variance to the District average of just 5.3%. This large rural area is very suitable as a single-member exception to the norm, as it will retain the community cohesion that currently exists. Page 3 of 22 JOINT SUBMISSION BY WINCHESTER AND MEON VALLEY CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATIONS 2. The Alresfords and Itchen Valley ward The existing ward containing the market town of Alresford includes New Alresford (polling districts XK and XL), Old Alresford (XN) and Bighton (WC). There are some 5245 electors in this Ward, so additional adjoining rural areas will need to be associated with the new Ward to reflect the District averages. Because of the range of services and facilities offered in Alresford, many of the surrounding parishes do look towards Alresford as the local centre, so it is reasonable to associate several neighbouring parishes in the new Ward. The parish of Bishop’s Sutton (WD) has been very closely associated with many activities in Alresford, sharing facilities and boundaries. Significant development along the parish borders is planned for the near future, so it would be anomalous not to group in the same new ward. Most of the residents in the parish of Tichborne (XZ) live in the North end of this long parish, close by the A31 ring road around Alresford. Tichborne has always been closely aligned with Alresford, so should be in the same ward. Some consideration should be given to altering the parish boundaries as those few electors in the South of this parish are many miles from Alresford. The many rural settlements to the West of Alresford, mostly served by the current Itchen Valley ward, also look towards Alresford as the local centre. The main roads running through these areas (B3047 and B3046) link the settlements to Alresford rather than to other hubs, so residents use the facilities and organisations available in Alresford. They also share the same County Council division. The proposed new ward consists of the following polling districts: XK, XL, XN, WC, XZ, WD, XM, WY, XB and WZ. There are forecast to be 7023 electors in 2020 in the proposed new ward, giving a variance to the District average of just 4.8%. Page 4 of 22 JOINT SUBMISSION BY WINCHESTER AND MEON VALLEY CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATIONS 3. Kings Worthy ward Kings Worthy is a historic settlement on the outskirts of Winchester. The current 2-member ward (polling districts XD and XE) bring together the old village and the new developments along Springvale Road. Although there are no clearly defined settlement centres, Kings Worthy does have several smaller settlement hubs that do attract residents from neighbouring areas, including Martyr Worthy (XA) and Headbourne Worthy (WW). It is also proposed to include the military family accommodation at Worthy Down (area MD on the map) in the new Kings Worthy ward.