North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements 1 Summary of Proposal Retain the same number of councillors as at present Move Spinkhill into Killamarsh West ward Combine Renishaw and Eckington South into a new ward with 3 councillors Realign the boundary between Eckington North and the new ward of Renishaw and Eckington South 2 Aims of Proposal The proposal aims to address the positive variance in the current Renishaw ward by containing any boundary changes within 4 wards at the north eastern edge of the North East Derbyshire District Council authority area achieve a more acceptable electoral distribution whilst maintaining community identity and effective and convenient local government 3 Background 3.1 The current Renishaw ward has a positive variance of 31%, projected to fall to 28% by 2022. The variance is well above the Boundary Commission’s tolerance level and change to the existing boundary to achieve electoral equality is inevitable. 3.2 Renishaw is situated to the north east of the North East Derbyshire authority area. It shares much of its eastern and southern boundary with Bolsover District Council and Chesterfield Borough Council. Any ward boundary changes are, therefore, limited to the north and west where the ward adjoins Killamarsh West and Eckington South wards of the North East Derbyshire authority area. 3.3 Renishaw is wholly situated within the parish of Eckington. 3.4 Figure 1 below shows the current and projected electoral figures for Renishaw and adjacent and nearby wards. 1 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements Number of cllrs Variance Variance Name of ward 2016 2022 per ward 2016 2022 Eckington North 2 2,899 -4% 2,893 -6% Eckington South 2 2,905 -3% 3,047 -1% Killamarsh East 2 3,032 1% 3,067 0% Killamarsh West 3 4,407 -2% 4,425 -4% Renishaw 1 1,976 31% 1,972 28% Ridgeway and 1 1,429 -5% 1,448 -6% Marsh Lane Figure 1: Current and Projected Electoral Numbers and Percentage Variance 3.3 The Boundary Commission is minded to retain 53 Councillors across the district and the proposal is based on that assumption with the electorate ratio to councillor shown in Figure 2 2016 2022 Number of councillors: 53 53 Overall electorate: 79,660 81,682 Average electorate per cllr: 1,503 1,541 Figure 2: Average Electorate Per Councillor 4 Proposal The proposal contains 3 recommendations which cumulatively seek to attain electoral equality within acceptable variances whilst retaining community identities and maintaining effective and convenient local government. 4.1 Move Spinkhill into Killamarsh West ward 4.1.1 Electoral Equality The Polling District TB has a current and projected electorate of 156. The effect of moving the Spinkhill electoral area into Killamarsh is shown in Figure 3. 2 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements Number of cllrs Variance Variance Name of ward 2016 2022 per ward 2016 2022 Killamarsh West 3 4,563 1% 4,581 -1% Renishaw 1 1,820 21% 1,816 18% Figure 3: Spinkhill moved to Killamarsh West The proposal would: eliminate/reduce the electoral deficit in Killamarsh West reduce the number of electors in the existing Renishaw ward but not significantly. The following 2 proposals outlined in 4.2 and 4.3 seek to address the continued positive variance in the existing Renishaw ward. 4.1.2 Community Identity Spinkhill is a self-contained village with clear open space surrounding it on all sides The village has a faith primary school and a private school with boarding facilities which also contains a Nuffield swimming pool and fitness suite The village community own and run a community public house Public transport links the village to Killamarsh and its shopping and leisure facilities (routes 71 and 74) The village is within easy reach of M1 junctions 30 and 31, neither of which would take the driver through Renishaw village. Spinkhill lies within the parish of Eckington and a proposal to ensure continued representation on that body is discussed in paragraph 5 Spinkhill and Killamarsh are both in the school catchment of Eckington Secondary School which is located in the Eckington North district ward. A new boundary would need to be drawn and proposals can be found in Appendix 1. 4.1.3 Effective and Convenient Local Government The number of councillors for Killamarsh West remains the same (3) The name of the ward is unchanged o Note: Spinkhill is not currently named in the title of the existing Renishaw ward The geographical size of Killamarsh West, with the inclusion of Spinkhill, is not overlarge and there are good transport connections. 3 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements 4.2 Combine Renishaw and Eckington South 4.2.1 Electoral Equality The electoral figures, shown in Figure 4, are based on the acceptance of the proposal in 4.1 and allocate 3 councillors to a new ward. Number of cllrs Variance Variance Name of ward 2016 2022 per ward 2016 2022 Eckington South 2 2,905 -3% 3,047 -1% Renishaw 1 1,820 21% 1,816 18% TOTAL 3 4,725 5% 4,863 5% Figure 4: Renishaw combined with Eckington South Whilst this simple combination reduces the positive variance to 5% it is felt that better equality can be obtained by rectifying 2 anomalies between the existing Eckington North and Eckington South wards (see 4.3 below) 4.2.2 Community Identity Both areas lie within the parish of Eckington There are public transport links between the 2 areas (service route 70) Leisure and additional shopping facilities in Eckington South are directly linked by road Both areas are within the catchment area of Eckington secondary school A new boundary would need to be drawn between this ward and Killamarsh West and proposals can be found in Appendix 1. 4.2.3 Effective and Convenient Local Government 3 Councillors could effectively represent the combined area The proposal to name the new ward Renishaw and Eckington South clearly identifies the ward area The geographical size of the new ward is not overlarge and there are good road connections 4 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements 4.3 Realign the boundary between Eckington North and Eckington South 4.3.1 Electoral Equality The figures shown in Figure 5 assume the acceptance of the proposals in 4.1 and 4.2 and on current electoral registrations. Number of cllrs Variance Variance Name of ward 2016 2022 per ward 2016 2022 Eckington North 2 3,041 1% 3,035 -1% Renishaw and 3 4,583 2% 4,721 2% Eckington South Figure 5: Electorate variances following realignment of ward boundaries The streets identified in this move are shown in Appendix 2. 4.3.2 Community Identity Both areas lie with the parish of Eckington The proposals have no other impact other than to provide a more distinct boundary using only main roads. The boundary is shown in Appendix 3. 4.3.3 Effective and Convenient Local Government No further change in the number of councillors No further ward name changes No significant change in geographical size Better boundary definition. 5 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements 5 Consequential Change - Eckington Parish Council 5.1 Current Composition Eckington Parish Council currently comprises 17 councillors which cover 4 wards as shown in Figure 6. Parish Ward Number of Parish Councillors Ridgeway and Marsh Lane 3 Eckington North 6 Eckington South 5 Renishaw 3 Figure 6: Current Composition of Eckington Parish Council The parish wards are co-terminus with the district council wards. 5.2 Proposed Composition Given that the above proposal is predicated on Spinkhill moving into Killamarsh West ward, which is within Killamarsh parish, there is a need to create a parish ward of Spinkhill, plus 3 wards co-terminus with the new district council wards. No change is suggested to the ward on Ridgeway and Marsh Lane (district or parish). No change is proposed to the overall size of the Parish Council. Figure 7 outlines the proposed composition following the district council ward changes detailed in this submission. Parish Ward Number of Parish Councillors Ridgeway and Marsh Lane 3 Eckington North 5 Renishaw and Eckington South 8 Spinkhill 1 Figure 7: Composition of Eckington Parish Council following District Council Boundary Changes 6 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements Appendix 1 New Boundary – Killamarsh West and Renishaw and Eckington South New boundary identified in orange 7 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements Appendix 2 Properties identified to move from Eckington North to Renishaw and Eckington South Eckington North to Eckington South Market Street 15 High Street 3 Freemans Court 13 31 Eckington South to Eckington North Moss Beck Close 22 Moss Rise Place 40 Sitwell Street 17 West End View 11 Berry Avenue 4 West Street evens 79 173 8 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 North East Derbyshire District Council Boundary Review Consultation on Warding Arrangements Appendix 3 New Boundary Eckington North and Renishaw and Eckington South New boundary identified in Green 9 Eckington and Killamarsh Branch Labour Party Submission January 2017 .