Agenda item

The purpose of this report is:

(1)   to consider the recommendations of the Wilmslow Community Governance Review Sub-Committee following the outcome of the Stage 1 consultation; and

(2)   to make a recommendation to Council on the formulation of its draft recommendation.

The Wilmslow Community Governance Review Sub-Committee will be meeting on the morning of 24^th June 2010 and its recommendations will be reported at the Committee’s meeting.

The documents which the Sub-Committee will be asked to consider in making its recommendations to the Committee are listed below. The documents referred to under items (1) and (2) (d), (e) and (f) are included in this agenda at the pages indicated.

(1)   Wilmslow Community Governance Review – Formulating the Council’s draft Recommendation

A briefing paper on the points which the Council needs to take into consideration in formulating its draft recommendation (page 9)

(2)   Wilmslow Community Governance Review – First Stage Consultation

The Sub-Committee will be asked to take into account the following feedback received and to consider and determine its recommendation to the Constitution Committee:

(a)   Valid petition requesting a Wilmslow and Handforth Town Council

(b)   Valid petition requesting a Handforth Community Council

(c)   Valid petition requesting a Parish Council for Styal

(d)   Results of the consultation with electors (page 23)

(e)   Other representations received (page 29)

(f)     Notes of the three public meetings held on 26^th, 28^th and 29^th April 2010 (page 79)

The Committee considered the recommendations of the Wilmslow Community Governance Review Sub-Committee following the outcome of the Stage 1 consultation with a view to advising Council on the formulation of its draft recommendation.

The Committee had before it the papers considered by the Sub-Committee at its meeting earlier in the day. These comprised a briefing paper on formulating the Council’s draft strategy, together with the following:

(a)Valid petition requesting a Wilmslow and Handforth Town Council

(b)Valid petition requesting a Handforth Community Council

(c)Valid petition requesting a Parish Council for Styal

(d)Results of the consultation with electors

(e)Other representations received

(f)  Notes of three public meetings held on 26^th, 28^th and 29^th April 2010

Three ballots had been conducted, one for the area covered by the Handforth petition, one for Styal and one for Wilmslow. In each case, the voter was asked to indicate whether they wanted a parish council and, if so, whether this should be for their area alone or for the whole of the unparished area comprising Wilmslow, Handforth and Styal. A clear majority of respondents in each area wanted to have a parish council, and of those, a clear majority wanted a separate parish council for their area.

In considering the results of the Stage 1 consultation and formulating its recommendations, the Sub-Committee had had regard to the need to ensure that community governance within the area under review would be:

• Reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area; and
• Effective and convenient.

The Sub-Committee had also had regard to the historical and traditional identities within the area and in this respect had felt that Polling District 8EE1, which had been included in the Handforth petition, should be included in any future parish for Wilmslow, given that the River Dean, which formed the northern boundary of the polling district, was the natural geographic, as well as historical, boundary between Wilmslow and Handforth. The Sub-Committee had asked that a map be prepared for the meeting of the Constitution Committee, showing the areas of the three proposed parishes but with the inclusion of Polling District 8EE1 within the Wilmslow parish.

The Sub-Committee had agreed that for the parishes of Handforth and Styal, the election of parish councillors should be from the area of the parish as a whole whereas Wilmslow, being significantly larger, should be divided into wards. The Sub-Committee had agreed to consider the detailed arrangements further at its next meeting on 5^th July. It would be necessary to hold a special meeting of the Constitution Committee to consider the Sub-Committee’s advice in order to submit any further recommendations to Council on 22^nd July.

The map requested by the Sub-Committee was circulated at the Committee’s meeting. This showed the areas of the three proposed parishes, with polling district 8EE1 being included in the proposed Wilmslow parish.

The Committee considered the detailed advice of the Sub-Committee with which it concurred.

RESOLVED

That

(1)   pursuant to Section 87 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007; and having regard to the provisions of the Department for Communities and Local Government and Electoral Commission Guidance, issued in April 2008, for the conduct of Community Governance Reviews; and having received three valid petitions  signed by the required number of electors calling for the constitution of new parishes for the three areas of (1) Handforth; (2) Wilmslow and Handforth; (3) Styal which triggered the Community Governance Review process:

1. Having taken into account

a.      the petitions;

b.      the results of the consultation with the electors in each of the areas concerned which show in each case that a majority of those who returned their ballot papers were in favour of a new parish council for their area;

c.      the results of the consultation exercise with stakeholders and the representations from other interested persons;

d.      the outcomes of the public meetings held in each of the review areas; and

e.      the information on existing community governance arrangements in the areas concerned and the alternative forms of community governance which might have been appropriate for the areas in question;

2. Council be advised

a.      that the interests of effective and convenient local government and community identities in these areas would be served by the creation of new parishes with a parish council for each of Handforth (not including polling district 8EE1 so as to recognise historic and traditional boundaries in the area), Wilmslow (including polling district 8EE1) and Styal, all as shown on the map appended to these minutes, with each parish comprising the polling districts indicated below; such parish councils to be called: Handforth Parish Council, Wilmslow Parish Council and Styal Parish Council respectively, and that Wilmslow Parish Council be advised to consider its designation as a Town Council;

Handforth Parish

Polling districts: 8EF1, 8EG1, 8EH1, 8EJ1

Wilmslow Parish

Polling districts: 8EA1, 8EB1, 8EC1, 8ED1, 8EE1, 8EK1, 8FA1,

8FB1, 8FC1, 8FD1, 8FE1, 8FF1, 8FG1, 8FH1, 8FJ1

Styal Parish

Polling district:    8FK1

b.      that in Handforth the election of parish councillors should be from the area of the parish as a whole;

c.      that in Styal the election of parish councillors should be from the area of the parish as a whole;

d.      that given the substantial size of the proposed Wilmslow parish and in order to reflect longstanding community identities, the parish should be divided into  wards for the purposes of election to the Parish Council;

e.      that the first year of elections to the new parish councils should be 2011; and

f.        that these proposals form the basis of a second stage of public consultations and that the Boundary Commission be informed of these proposals;

(2)   a special meeting of the Committee be held on 12^th July 2010 at 4.00 pm at the Municipal Buildings, Creweto consider the advice of the Wilmslow Community Governance Review Sub-Committee and make further recommendations to Council in relation to:

1. the number of councillors to serve on each of the new parish councils; and

2. the ward names and boundaries, and the number of councillors for each ward in the Wilmslow parish, bearing in mind the need to achieve overall electoral equality (ie. the number of  electors per councillor) as far as possible.