Appendix A:

Petition for the creation of “Whippingham” Parish Council

1. Background:

1.1 The Isle of Wight Council received a petition on 3^rd March 2006 calling for the creation of a “Whippingham” Parish Council. The Council is obliged to pass the petition onto the Secretary of State and the Electoral Commission as received within a period of thirteen weeks of receipt, 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 the proposed boundary and the electoral arrangements of the Parish Council.

2. Consultation:

2.1 An Official Notice was placed in the Isle Of Wight County Press, and used within the Whippingham area. The notice gave the locations of where the map of the proposed boundary could be viewed, including the Isle of Wight Council website, iwight.com, and requested that any comments on the boundary itself or the subsequent electoral arrangements be submitted to the Council by Friday 5^th May 2006.

2.2 In addition to the Official Notice, letters of notification were sent to neighbouring Parish Councils and Community Partnerships, 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, and the MP for the Isle of Wight, Andrew Turner.

2.3 A public meeting was held in the Whippingham Community Centre on the evening of Wednesday 19^th April 2006; this meeting had been publicised in the Official Notice.

2.4 This report details the consultation work undertaken with stakeholders regarding the petition for the creation of a “Whippingham” Parish Council, the feedback received, and makes recommendations to Council in the light of that consultation.

3. The Public Meeting:

3.1 The Public Meeting was held at 7:00pm in the Whippingham Community Centre on Wednesday 19^th April 2006. A large-scale map of the area contained within the map submitted with the petition was on display.

3.2 It was noted that the proposed area included the whole of one existing Polling District, that of Whippingham, which forms the southern part of the Osborne Electoral Division, and does not include any area of land that is currently parished.

4. Feedback from the Public Meeting:

4.1 Around 26 people attended the public meeting, all of whom lived within the area in question.

4.2 The meeting provided a good deal of positive feedback for the creation of the Parish Council.

4.3 After an initial discussion on the establishment of a Parish Council, a show of hands was taken on the question of whether those present were in favour of the creation of such a body. Of those present, 25 were in favour, with none against and no abstentions.

4.4 A further show of hands was taken on the proposed boundary. Nine people were in favour of the boundary as proposed in the petition, with nine other people wishing to extend the proposed boundary to the North and South of the petition map, at a later date. The practicalities and merits of possible future alterations of the boundary were discussed, and the meeting concluded that the boundary as submitted with the petition should stand.

4.5 The matter of Warding arrangements was discussed next, and the overriding impression obtained from the meeting was one of universal agreement, with people from all parts of the area agreeing to co-operate to see their plans brought to fruition, and without any possible sub-division into factions through the warding of the area. Due to the obvious strength of feeing no show of hands on warding was taken, and when questioned no one present had any objection to the proposed Parish Council being unwarded.

4.6 Finally the possible electoral arrangements for the Parish Council were discussed. A large majority of the 26 people favoured having 6 members, whilst 2 people preferred 5 members.

5. Results of the Consultation Process:

5.1 Other than the feedback received during the course of the Public Meeting, very few other comments were received regarding the content of the petition for the creation of the Parish Council.

5.2 Two messages of support were received, one from Gurnard Parish Council, and one from Freshwater Parish Council.

6.0 Recommendations:

6.1 All recommendations associated with the proposed Parish Council are contained within the main body of this report.

Contact Point: Emma Woodmore, Assistant Electoral Services Officer. Tel (01983) 823341

[email protected]

Area of Proposed Whippingham Parish Council