Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Nominations for a Chairman for 2022/23 were sought.

Cllr Gavin Grant nominated Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling and was seconded by Cllr Ashley O’Neill.

As there were no other nominations, it was;

Resolved:

That Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling was elected as Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee for 2022/23.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling in the chair.

Nominations for a Vice-Chairman for 2022/23 were sought.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling nominated Cllr Gavin Grant and was seconded by Cllr Ashley O’Neill.

As there were no other nominations, it was;

Resolved:

That Cllr Gavin Grant was elected as Vice-Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee for 2022/23.

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from:

Cllr Paul Oatway

Cllr Stuart Wheeler

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8 February 2022.

The Minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 February 2022 were presented, it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Cllr Gavin Grant noted that as he was also a member of Malmesbury Town Council, he would not take part in the discussion or vote during consideration of St Paul Malmesbury Without area proposals, in his capacity as a Committee Member, but instead would speak and if appropriate answer any factual questions in his role as a Malmesbury Town Councillor.

Cllr Ian Thorn noted that as he was also a member of Calne Town Council he would not take part in the discussion or vote during consideration of the proposals relating to Calne Town, in his capacity as a Committee Member, but instead would speak and if appropriate answer any factual questions as a Local Member for Calne Town, and not as the Calne Town Council representative.

To reecive any announcements through the Chair.

There were no announcements.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this

agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item.

Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further

clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such

questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on 24 May 2022 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on 26 May 2022. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

No questions or statements had been received within the timeframe set out in the agenda.

The Chairman noted that public speakers would be invited to address the Sub-Committee at the start of each agenda item.

To receive a report from the Director, Legal and Governance.

A report was received on the councils’ electoral divisions, and their variance from the average electorate per division. In establishing the divisions for the 2021 elections the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) sought to establish divisions which would be within 10% of the average electorate per division. This was based on projected electorates for 2024.

It was reported that 21 divisions currently had a variance greater than 10%, below the intervention criteria of the LGBCE, although there were currently a number of divisions with a variance of over 30%, which was also an intervention criteria. The LGBCE had confirmed that a review would not be carried out before the 2025 elections, and if the criteria were met would discuss further with the council, as it might be that the variances would reduce within a reasonable time at that stage.

The Committee discussed the methodology for calculating electorate and projected electorate, noting this had difficulties for instance around military sites, but that the council was required to calculate by electorate and not population.

Legislation allowed for a partial review of the council’s electoral divisions to be carried out in place of a full review of all 98 divisions. However, the LGBCE had advised that it would require a strong case to consider this approach

The Committee requested an annual update report highlighting areas approaching the threshold for a review, in order to consider possible solutions to avoid a full review.

Resolved,

The Electoral Review Committee noted the Report.

To receive a report from the Director, Legal and Governance, following the consultation on the Draft Recommendations agreed on 8 February 2022.

Public Participation

Mr Ioan Rees, the organiser of a petition, spoke in support of recommendation 7 (Calne without/Derry Hill & Studley)

Mr Keith Robbins as a petitioner spoke in spoke in support of recommendation 7 (Calne without/Derry Hill & Studley)

Mr John Bartholomew, representative of Brokenborough PC spoke in in respect of Recommendation 8 (Malmesbury)

Mr Roger Bugden, representing St Paul Malmesbury without PC spoke in respect of recommendation 8 (Malmesbury)

Mr David Briggs representing St Paul Malmesbury without PC spoke in respect of recommendation 8 (Malmesbury)

The Committee considered the responses to the Draft Recommendations consultation which ran from 18 March 2022 – 5 May 2022. 

Charlton St Peter

The Committee discussed Draft Recommendation 1 (Charlton St Peter). No further responses had been received, and the Committee considered the reasoning and evidence for the proposal remained appropriate and confirmed its recommendation.

The Committee determined to confirm Draft recommendation 1

Calne & Surrounding Areas

The Committee considered Draft Recommendations 2 – 7, which related to Calne, Bremhill, Hillmarton, Compton Bassett, Cherhill, Heddington and Calne without (Derry Hill & Studley). Members of the public spoke as detailed above.

Recommendation 2 - Calne Town

Cllr Ian Thorn spoke as local member and not in his capacity as Committee member.

Consultation responses relating to the Calne Town proposals were considered as attached to the report.  Responses were predominantly in support, however there were requests to consider the views of residents in the proposed area A, Cherhill View estate.  The Committee continued to consider the area was an urban extension of the town and should be transferred within it. A request from Calne Town Council to reconsider its proposal to transfer the Beversbrook sports facility was also discussed The Committee noted there were no residential properties involved and did not consider evidence had been provided that governance or community reasons justified such a change.

The Committee determined to confirm Draft recommendation 2

Recommendation 3 – Bremhill

The Committee noted the consultation responses relating to the Bremhill proposals, with an objection from Langley Burrell PC to the transfer of area E, although support had been received from residents within that area, currently a part Langley Burrell Without. The Committee continued to support the proposals to transfer the area to Bremhill as more reflective of the community identity and interests. There had been a mixed response from residents around Stanley Abbey Farm, and on balance the Committee upheld its initial recommendation as the most appropriate option.

The Committee considered and supported a request for an amendment to the boundary line to the south, to include within the parish of Calne Without (Derry Hill & Studley) a group of properties around Black Dog Holt, which were currently split across two parishes by the recommendation

The Committee noted that a further short consultation would be required and that a final recommendation for Bremhill would be considered at the next meeting once the consultation responses had been considered.

Recommendation 4 – Hilmarton & Compton Bassett

The Committee noted the consultation responses, which indicated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To receive a report from the Director, Legal and Governance.

The Committee considered the list of remaining schemes for review, in order to prioritise and agree areas to be included in the Draft Terms of Reference, as detailed at Appendix A, for the Community Governance Review (CGR) to take place sometime in 2022/23.

After a short discussion, it was;

Resolved

1.    To delegate to the Director Legal and Governance, finalisation and approval of the Terms of Reference for a Community Governance Review 2022/23, as attached at Appendix A, to include the timetable for the review after consultation with the Chairman of the Committee. The Director after consultation with the Chairman will have the authority to amend the terms of reference at any time if appropriate.

2.    That the following areas be included in the review for 2022/23:

·         Netheravon

·         Figheldean

·         Warminster

·         Fovant

·         Donhead St Mary

·         Monkton Farleigh/Grimstead

·         Biddestone

·         Yatton Keynell and Grittleton

·         Nettleton

·         Castle Coombe

·         Tidworth

·         Ludgershall

·         Westbury

·         Bratton

·         Heywood

·         Dilton Marsh

3.    That the parish of Sedgehill and Semley would be elected to a single parish council of 9 members, unwarded at the next election.

To confirm the date of the next meeting as 5 July 2022.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 5 July 2022.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.