Agenda and minutes

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the meeting on any matter relating to the work of the body in question.  Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman or person presiding will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers. Members of the public are not required to give notice to use this facility. However, as a matter of courtesy, a period of 24 hours’ notice is encouraged.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question at the meeting should provide at least three clear working days’ notice in writing and should include the question with that notice. This will enable an informed answer to be given.

There were no members of the public wishing to speak.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 31^st July 2019.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 31^st July 2019 be approved as a correct record.

To consider a report which provides an update on the pre-consultation survey carried out across the Borough, and reminds members of the next steps and the process for proposal development.

The Sub-Committee considered a report which provided an update on the pre-consultation survey and reminded members of the next steps and the process for proposal development.

A period of pre-consultation had been initiated on 28^th October 2019, inviting any person or body interested in the review to provide a response to a survey. The survey itself was live for a period of 14 weeks and closed on the 31^st January 2020. Details of the responses received were set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

In addition to the pre-consultation survey submissions, the preparatory data required to develop the Council’s proposals had now been received, including electorate numbers; the number of councillor seats representing each ward; existing requests from parish councils for a review; and electorate growth forecasts. The data included all factors previously agreed as points of focus: known concerns of parishes; wards with significant variances to the average population density and/or councillor ratios; Local Plan developments; and known built-environment changes.

Subject to the approval of the Sub-Committee and the Constitution Committee, stage 2 of the review process would now commence: the preparation of draft recommendations for formal consultation.

Dr Melvyn Humphreys attended the meeting and provided his expert opinion on the approach to date and the next steps in the review process.

RESOLVED

That the Community Governance Review Sub-Committee recommends to the Constitution Committee that the pre-consultation survey responses be acknowledged and the initiation of the Council’s proposals for all parish wards be agreed.