Final recommendations on the future electoral arrangements for Winchester in Hampshire Report to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions July 2000 LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND This report sets out the Commission’s final recommendations on the electoral arrangements for the district of Winchester in Hampshire. Members of the Commission are: Professor Malcolm Grant (Chairman) Professor Michael Clarke CBE (Deputy Chairman) Peter Brokenshire Kru Desai Pamela Gordon Robin Gray Robert Hughes CBE Barbara Stephens (Chief Executive) © Crown Copyright 2000 Applications for reproduction should be made to: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office Copyright Unit. The mapping in this report is reproduced from OS mapping by the Local Government Commission for England with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence Number: GD 03114G. This report is printed on recycled paper. v Report no: 174 ii LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND CONTENTS page LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE v SUMMARY vii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 CURRENT ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS 3 3 DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS 7 4 RESPONSES TO CONSULTATION 9 5 ANALYSIS AND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS 13 6 NEXT STEPS 41 APPENDICES A Final Recommendations for Winchester: Detailed Mapping 43 B Draft Recommendations for Winchester (February 2000) 47 A large map illustrating the proposed ward boundaries for Winchester city is inserted inside the back cover of the report. LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND iii iv LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND Local Government Commission for England 25 July 2000 Dear Secretary of State On 20 July 1999 the Commission began a periodic electoral review of Winchester under the Local Government Act 1992. We published our draft recommendations in February 2000 and undertook an eight-week period of consultation. We have now prepared our final recommendations in the light of the consultation. We have substantially confirmed our draft recommendations, although some modifications have been made (see paragraph 130) in light of further evidence. This report sets out our final recommendations for changes to electoral arrangements in Winchester. We recommend that Winchester City Council should be served by 57 councillors representing 26 wards, and that changes should be made to ward boundaries in order to improve electoral equality, having regard to the statutory criteria. We recommend that the Council should continue to hold elections by thirds. The Local Government Bill, containing legislative proposals for a number of changes to local authority electoral arrangements, is currently being considered by Parliament. However, until such time as that new legislation is in place we are obliged to conduct our work in accordance with current legislation, and to continue our current approach to periodic electoral reviews. I would like to thank members and officers of the City Council and other local people who have contributed to the review. Their co-operation and assistance have been very much appreciated by Commissioners and staff. Yours sincerely PROFESSOR MALCOLM GRANT Chairman LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND v vi LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND SUMMARY The Commission began a review of Winchester on 20 July 1999. We published our draft recommendations for electoral arrangements on 22 February 2000, after which we undertook an eight-week period of consultation. • This report summarises the representations we received during consultation on our draft recommendations, and contains our final recommendations to the Secretary of State. We found that the existing electoral arrangements provide unequal representation of electors in Winchester: • In 21 of the 32 wards the number of electors represented by each councillor varies by more than 10 per cent from the average for the district, and 13 wards vary by more than 20 per cent from the average. • By 2004 electoral equality is not expected to improve, with the number of electors per councillor forecast to vary by more than 10 per cent from the average in 25 wards, and by more than 20 per cent in 11 wards. Our main final recommendations for future electoral arrangements (Figures 1 and 2 and paragraphs 130-131) are that: • Winchester City Council should have 57 councillors, two more than at present; • there should be 26 wards, instead of 32 as at present; • the boundaries of 26 of the existing wards should be modified and six wards should retain their existing boundaries; • elections should continue to take place by thirds. These recommendations seek to ensure that the number of electors represented by each district councillor is as nearly as possible the same, having regard to local circumstances. • The number of electors per councillor in only eight of the proposed wards would vary by more than 10 per cent from the district average, and in only three wards by more than 20 per cent from the average. • These levels of electoral equality are expected to improve further, with the number of electors per councillor in only three wards forecast to vary by more than 10 per cent from the average for the district in 2004. LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND vii Recommendations are also made for changes to parish council electoral arrangements which provide for: • new warding arrangements for the parishes of Soberton and Wickham; • an increase in the number of councillors serving Bishops Waltham, Swanmore and Wickham parish councils. All further correspondence on these recommendations and the matters discussed in this report should be addressed to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, who will not make an order implementing the Commission’s recommendations before 5 September 2000: The Secretary of State Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions Local Government Sponsorship Division Eland House Bressenden Place London SW1E 5DU viii LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND Figure 1: The Commission’s Final Recommendations: Summary Ward name Number of Constituent areas Map councillors reference 1 Bishops Waltham 3 Unchanged (Bishops Waltham parish) Map 2 2 Boarhunt & 1 Unchanged (Boarhunt and Southwick & Widley Map 2 Southwick parishes) 3 Cheriton & Bishops 1 Bishops Sutton ward (part – Bishops Sutton parish); Map 2 Sutton Cheriton ward (Beauworth, Bramdean, Cheriton, Kilmeston and Tichborne parishes) 4 Colden Common & 3 Owslebury & Colden Common ward (part – Map 2 Twyford Colden Common parish); Twyford ward (Twyford parish) 5 Compton & 2 Compton ward (Compton & Shawford parish); Map 2 Otterbourne Otterbourne & Hursley ward (Hursley and Otterbourne parishes) 6 Denmead 3 Unchanged (Denmead parish) Map 2 7 Droxford, Soberton 1 Droxford, Soberton & Hambledon ward (part – Maps 2 & Hambledon Droxford parish, Hambledon parish and Soberton and A2 ward of Soberton parish as proposed) 8 Itchen Valley 1 Itchen Valley ward (Chilcomb, Itchen Stoke & Map 2 Ovington and Itchen Valley parishes); Micheldever ward (part – Northington parish) 9 Kings Worthy 2 The Worthys ward (part – Kings Worthy parish) Map 2 10 Littleton & 2 Unchanged Littleton ward (Littleton & Harestock Map 2 Harestock parish) 11 Olivers Battery & 2 Badger Farm ward (Badger Farm parish); Olivers Map 2 Badger Farm Battery ward (Olivers Battery parish) 12 Owslebury & 2 Curdridge ward (Curdridge parish); Durley & Map 2 Curdridge Upham ward (Durley and Upham parishes); Owslebury & Colden Common ward (part – Owslebury parish) 13 St Barnabas 3 St Barnabas ward (part); St Paul ward (part) Large map (in Winchester) 14 St Bartholomew 3 St Barnabas ward (part); St Bartholomew ward Large map (in Winchester) (part) 15 St John & All 3 Unchanged Large map Saints (in Winchester) 16 St Luke 3 St Luke ward (part) Large map (in Winchester) LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND ix Ward name Number of Constituent areas Map councillors reference 17 St Michael 3 St Luke ward (part); St Michael ward (part) Large map (in Winchester) 18 St Paul 3 St Bartholomew ward (part); St Luke ward (part); Large map (in Winchester) St Paul ward (part) 19 Shedfield 2 Shedfield ward (Shedfield ward of Shedfield Map 2 parish); Waltham Chase ward (Waltham Chase ward of Shedfield parish) 20 Sparsholt 1 Sparsholt ward (Crawley and Sparsholt parishes); Map 2 The Worthys ward (part – Headbourne Worthy parish) 21 Swanmore & 2 Droxford, Soberton & Hambledon ward (part – Maps 2 Newtown Soberton Heath & Newtown ward of Soberton and A2 parish as proposed); Swanmore ward (Swanmore parish) 22 The Alresfords 3 Bishops Sutton ward (part – Bighton and Old Map 2 Alresford parishes); New Alresford ward (New Alresford parish) 23 Upper Meon Valley 1 Unchanged (Corhampton & Meonstoke, Exton, Map 2 Warnford and West Meon parishes) 24 Whiteley 2 Wickham ward (part – Whiteley & Curbridge ward Maps 2 of Wickham parish (part)) and A3 25 Wickham 2 Wickham ward (part – Whiteley & Curbridge ward Maps 2 of Wickham parish (part); Wickham ward of and A3 Wickham parish) 26 Wonston & 3 Micheldever ward (part – Micheldever parish); Map 2 Micheldever Wonston ward (South Wonston and Wonston parishes) Notes: 1 Winchester city is the only unparished part of the district, and comprises the six wards indicated above. 2 Map 2 and Appendix A, including the large map inserted inside the back cover of the report, illustrate the proposed wards outlined above. x LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION