PAPER E
Committee: FULL COUNCIL
Date : 15 MARCH 2006
REPORT OF THE ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE
___________________________________________________________________
1.
On 9th January
2006 the Isle Of Wight Council received a petition calling for the creation of
a “Northwood Parish Council” with the boundaries as set out in the map included
with Appendix A. The Council, within three months, has to pass the petition
onto the Secretary Of State and the Electoral Commission, as received, along
with the Council’s views on the petition and any information the Council has
relating to local opinion on the proposal. The Council may also make
recommendations on various “electoral matters”, and on the proposed boundary of
the Parish Council.
2.
None. Since the Petition
was received we have undertaken a period of consultation including the use of
an Official Notice, letters to neighbouring Parish Councils and Community Partnerships,
notification to neighbouring Isle of Wight Council members, the Isle of Wight Youth
Council, the Isle of Wight Society of Local Council Clerks, the Isle of Wight
Association of Parish and Town Councils, Andrew Turner MP, and a Public
Meeting.
3.
The petition was
received on 9th January 2006, and the petition, along with
associated maps, comments and recommendations must be passed to the Secretary
Of State and the Electoral Commission by 9th April 2006. Appendix A
contains a summary of the feedback that has been received during the
consultation process.
5.
Due to the tight
timescales imposed by the Local Government and Rating Act 1997, a period of
public consultation was commenced upon receipt of the petition. The details of
this consultation are attached in Appendix A.
6.
Some
expenditure has already been incurred with the consultation process, all of
which has been met from within existing budgets.
7.
The
costs of running any Parish Council created as a result of this petition will
be met from any precept levied by that Parish Council. The costs of running
elections can be controlled by ensuring that boundaries are, where appropriate,
coterminous with Electoral Divisions to avoid small and fragmented Polling
Districts. Little additional expenditure would be anticipated, as changes to
Polling Districts can be effected easily via our existing computer systems.
8.
The
petition has been submitted under the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 and
as detailed above the Isle of Wight Council has to, within three months, pass
the petition and plan, as received, to the Secretary of State and the Electoral
Commission along with any comments that the Council may make on the petition and any information the Council has
relating to local opinion on the proposal.
9.
It
will be for the Secretary of State (in this case the Deputy Prime Minister) to
determine if a Parish Council is created as a consequence of the petition. The
Council can only express views on the proposal.
10.
The
Isle of Wight Council can make recommendations to the Secretary Of State on a
number of options:
13. The Council may make recommendations on the number of Councillors who should serve on the Parish Council, and whether or not the Parish Council should be divided into wards.
14.
The
map submitted with the Petition seeks to emparish the whole of one Isle of
Wight Council Electoral Division, that of Northwood, and does not include any
area of land that is currently parished.
15.
The Isle of Wight
Council is also being asked to make recommendations on the number of Councillors
who should serve on the Parish Council, along with the possible warding of the
Council.
16.
Number of members: At the Public Meeting, a very large majority
of those present were in favour of having 8 members serving on the Parish
Council. The electorate of the proposed Parish Council area will be roughly 1835,
and this puts it on a par with Brading Parish Council which has 1725 electors
and 8 members.
17.
Warding:
Wards are used to ensure that separate communities within the Parish Council
area are adequately represented. There
is only one main body of population within the proposed Parish Council area,
that being the area of Northwood itself. The rest of the population is
distributed over the remainder of the area, with no other population
concentrations.
18.
It
was the unanimous view of the Public Meeting that the area should not be divided
into Wards, and that the population do indeed see themselves as one cohesive
whole. It is therefore recommended that the area is not divided into Parish
Council Wards.
19.
These
options accord with the Councils policy of creating Parish Councils “where
there is a demand.”
20.
Risks
are minimal with this process. Officers must ensure that any recommendation for
emparishment is put forward to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the
Electoral Commission in accordance with the provisions contained within the
Local Government and Rating Act 1997.
RECOMMENDATIONS 21.
Given the feedback
obtained from the Public Meeting and other sources, it is recommended: a.
That the Isle of
Wight Council support the petition for the establishment of the “Northwood”
Parish Council. b.
That
boundaries of the Parish Council be as defined by the map presented with the
Petition (and as set out in Appendix A). c.
That the Parish Council should consist of 8
members. d.
That
the Parish Council area should not be divided into Wards. |
22.
Appendix A – Consultation, Feedback
and map of proposed Parish area
Contact Point : Clive
Joynes, Electoral Services Officer (01983) 823341
clive.joynes@iow,gov.uk
|
JOHN K. LAWSON Acting Chief Executive |