Agenda item

A report from the Director of Legal and Governance is attached.

To consider the Final Recommendations of the Electoral Review Committee for the Area Board Boundary Review.

Councillor Richard Clewer, Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee, presented the report and Final Recommendations of the Committee on the Area Board Boundary Review. This would finalise the composition of Area Boards following the scheduled elections in May 2021, following the changes made by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England in the Electoral Review of Wiltshire Council, and the Community Governance Reviews undertaken by the Council.

Councillor Clewer moved approval of the recommendations of the Committee, subject to amending the proposed name of the Southern Area Board to Southern Wiltshire Area Board, which was the preference of the Board. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Gavin Grant, Vice-Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee.

Councillor Clewer thanked Members and Officers for contributing to and supporting the work of the Committee in consulting with Area Boards and reviewing the responses received from parishes and individuals during the public consultation. It was confirmed that under the council’s constitution each unitary Division could only be placed in one Area Board, and that the Committee had resolved that no parish should be split between Area Boards.

Councillor Clewer then explained the proposals for each Area Board as detailed fully in the Final Recommendations document. Areas highlighted included;

·       The composition of Amesbury and Southern Wiltshire Area Boards which was complicated by three Divisions which needed to be included together to avoid splitting a parish;

·       Recognition of the rural elements of the Chippenham Area Board;

·       The composition of Devizes and Melksham Area Board where it was concluded on balance the Devizes Rural West Division should be included with Devizes Area Board although some of the parishes involved preferred otherwise

·       That Marlborough Area Board was reduced to three Divisions and would include an overarching Eastern Wiltshire Area Committee along with Pewsey and Tidworth. Though some individual parishes now within the Pewsey Area Board were not in favour of the proposals, but the Committee considered that the composition of Divisions and need for quorate Area Boards meant the proposals were the only appropriate option; And,

·       Other minor changes to Area Boards to align to the incoming Electoral Divisions.

The Chairman then invited Group Leaders to comment.

Councillor Philip Whitehead, Leader of the Council, thanked all involved for their work beginning with the Electoral Review and culminating in the Area Board Boundary proposal. He noted the potential for difficulty when amending boundaries and lauded the Committee for its collaborative approach to the issues that had avoided major dispute.

Councillor Ian Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, added his thanks to the Members and Officers, and considered it a further good example of cross party working without political considerations.

Councillor Ernie Clark, Leader of the Independent Group, welcomed the proposals and added his thanks.

Councillor Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, thanked all those involved on what was a difficult task. He noted that the proposals would not please everyone as some of the new Divisions were not sensible, but the Committee had worked in a non-political way to create a reasonable proposal for new Area Boards using those Divisions.

The Chairman then opened the item to debate. Comments included praise for the work and leadership of Councillor Clewer and Councillor Grant in an open, collaborative and consultation focused approach at every stage. Members noted the constraints for the new Area Boards because of the new Divisions imposed, not all of which had been supported by the Council, and that the proposal was appropriate and reasonable, and as a result had not prompted as many concerns from parishes as might otherwise have been the case.

A comment was received suggesting political considerations had been prominent during the unitary Division creation, but other Members including from the Committee strongly refuted that that had been the case.

At the conclusion of debate, Councillor Clewer thanked Members for their positive comments and hoped the process would serve as a model for engagement and collaborative working. He also strongly refuted the suggestion that politics had played any role at any stage of the Area Board Boundary Review or other review processes.

Following a vote, it was,

Resolved:

That Council,

1) Approve the composition of each Area Board from May 2021 set out

below as recommended and detailed by the Electoral Review Committee

in the Final Recommendations:

i. Recommendation 1 – Amesbury

ii. Recommendation 2 – Bradford-on-Avon

iii. Recommendation 3 – Calne

iv. Recommendation 4 – Chippenham and Villages

v. Recommendation 5 – Corsham

vi. Recommendation 6 – Devizes

vii. Recommendation 7 – Malmesbury

viii. Recommendation 8 – Marlborough

ix. Recommendation 9 – Melksham

x. Recommendation 10 – Pewsey

xi. Recommendation 11 – Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade

xii. Recommendation 12 – Salisbury

xiii. Recommendation 13 – Southern Wiltshire

xiv. Recommendation 14 – South West Wiltshire

xv. Recommendation 15 – Tidworth

xvi. Recommendation 16 – Trowbridge

xvii. Recommendation 17 – Warminster

xviii. Recommendation 18 – Westbury

2) To authorise the Monitoring Officer to amend the Constitution accordingly for May 2021 when the proposed Area Boards come into effect.

A recorded vote is attached to the minutes, with an outcome as follows:

For: 82

Against: 0

Abstain: 0