Issue - meetings

Further to a report considered by Assembly in July 2020 (minute 16 refers) on the Council Size proposal of 51 councillors, the Director of Law and Governance presented a further report on Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) Ward Boundary Review 2020.

The LGBCE being ‘minded to’ support the Council’s submission, undertook a public consultation exercise, seeking a wide range of local views with reasons as to the Borough’s ward boundary pattern, including the number and names of proposed wards, together with the number of councillors per ward. The consultation exercise ran for seven weeks and concluded on 11 January 2021.  The Council, as a statutory consultee, was invited to make a submission.

A prospective ward boundary map was drawn up with supporting information, proposing the creation of nineteen wards, made up of a combination of 2 and 3 Member wards, and which given the 11 January 2021 deadline to respond, was presented to the LGBCE as the Authority’s in principle view as to its favoured ward pattern arrangements, subject to approval by the Assembly at this meeting.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Agree the proposed ward pattern for the Borough of nineteen (19) wards made up of a combination of 2 and 3 Member wards based on the configuration detailed in ward boundary map set out in Appendix 3 with additional information as set out in Appendix 4 (location of schools), Appendix 5 (location of places of worship) and Appendix 6 (supporting information for each of the 19 proposed wards), and which includes reference to the creation of two new wards named Creekmouth and Roding, and

(ii)  That the decision be reaffirmed with the LGBCE.