Agenda item

To receive a report from the Corporate Director.

The Chairman gave guidance on the process for amendments and public speaking under this item.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee presented a report from the Committee which proposed a submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England based on 98 electoral divisions. Attention was drawn to the proposed division maps and projected electorate information in the Supplement. Thanks were given to Maggie Mulhall and Kieran Elliott for their work supporting the review, and also to the Committee, Cllr Gavin Grant and Cllr Ashley O’Neill in particular for a collaborative effort. It was explained the proposals were not perfect in every location however worked for the whole county and had been carefully considered.

The proposals were based on: electoral equality, community identity and effective local government.  The Committee had considered where best to split parishes to achieve electoral equality, based on community feel and the urban/rural nature of communities had also been taken into account. Finally, future urban developments were factored into the recommendations. It was highlighted that necessary changes to the documents were to be delegated to the Director of Legal and Democratic Services to address any outstanding issues. The Committee Chairman advised that consideration of division names and Area Board boundaries were to be considered at a later date. A summary of the key issues and changes for individual divisions was provided.

The motion was seconded by Cllr Grant.

The Chairman thanked the members and officers for their support of this review.

Group Leaders then commented on the proposals as follows:

Cllr Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE expressed her thanks to Cllr Clewer and the rest of the Committee, as well as officers for their work on the project and the level of consultation. The Leader also highlighted complexity of the review.

Cllr Ian Thorn echoed thanks for the support to the project and emphasised it was impossible to produce a whole scheme that pleased everyone in the county.

Cllr Ernie Clark agreed with the previous comments made by fellow Group Leaders.

Cllr Ricky Rogers also expressed his thanks to officers and members for their work on the review.

The Chairman then invited comments in debate.

Debate

Many councillors expressed thanks to Committee members and officers for their work supporting the review, and to Cllr Clewer for his leadership. It was noted the proposal was a workable solution for all divisions. Concern was raised by the local member over the consultation that had taken place in respect of the Winterslow division and parishes within this division. In response, other members spoke of thorough consultation and an excellent example of cross-party working. The Committee was thanked for taking into consideration representation about Bowerhill, however the local member did not support the proposal for Melksham and requested further consideration of urban communities. It was noted there was some unease in the Bulkington, Salisbury and Chippenham areas about the proposals, Chippenham Town Council was to provide further detail to Cllr Clewer. The complexity of the review was acknowledged alongside the need to review boundaries in light of population growth, and the differences for councillors representing urban and rural areas.

Cllr Clewer responded to the comments made and stated that Wiltshire was a consultee and parishes needed to make representations to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. It was explained the Committee had planned for the future population changes, however inevitably changes would be required in the future. The Cabinet member stated there had been excellent cross-party working behind the proposals.

The motion was put to the vote

Resolved:

1) That Council approves the draft submission on a pattern of divisions to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England as set out in Appendix A.

2) To delegate any necessary changes to finalise the document for submission to the LGBCE to the Director of Legal and Democratic Services after consultation with the Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee

3) To delegate the preparation of nominal division names to the Director of Legal and Democratic Services after consultation with the Electoral Review Committee, noting that Full Council will recommend finalised names following publication of draft recommendations by the Commission in February 2019.

Votes for the motion: 80

Votes against the motion: 0

Abstentions: 2