Title : DE-WARDING OF NETTLESTONE AND SEAVIEW PARISH COUNCIL

REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

IMPLEMENTATION DATE : IMMEDIATE

SUMMARY/PURPOSE

1. At its meeting of the 8^th December 2003, Nettlestone and Seaview Parish Council resolved to apply to the Isle of Wight Council to have the internal electoral arrangements of the Parish Council altered, so that both existing wards, namely Nettlestone Ward and Seaview Ward would be abolished, and the Parish Council would become un-warded.

CONFIDENTIAL/EXEMPT ITEMS

2. None. Since the request was received we have undertaken a period of consultation including the use of an Official Notice within the wards in question, which was also published in the Isle of Wight County Press, and an article in the local “Parish News” magazine which is circulated to the majority of properties in the area of the Parish Council.

BACKGROUND

3. We have been verbally informed that the request to de-ward the Parish Council stems from a desire to further break down any barriers that may be perceived as existing between the two villages within the Parish Council area, which have, with the passing of time, slowly merged into each other, with the boundaries between the two areas becoming less distinct.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

4. The Isle Of Wight Council has an existing policy of supporting the creation of Parish Councils, where there is a demand from the electorate. The Council has no policy on whether or not a Parish Council should be warded, and in recent instances of petitions being received calling for the creation of a Parish Council, public consultation has determined whether or not those Parish Councils should be subsequently warded. The extension or creation of Parish Councils will fit comfortably with one of the aspirations of the Isle of Wight Community Strategy 2002-2012, viz: “To help local communities become more involved in making local decisions.”

CONSULTATION

5. The measures taken to publicise this request are detailed above, under item 2.

6. The public consultation produced no responses whatsoever, and the Council may conclude from that the electorate of Nettlestone and Seaview Parish Council are ambivalent with regards to the warding of the Parish Council.

7. The local member has been consulted and is in favour of the proposal to de-ward the Parish Council.

FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

8. Some minor expenditure has already been incurred with the consultation process, all of which has been met from within existing budgets.

9. No further costs will be incurred by the Isle of Wight Council subsequent to this decision, other than the drafting of an Order to bring any change into effect.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

10. The Isle of Wight Council has the power to review the internal electoral arrangements of any Parish Council area, and to bring those changes into effect by way of an Order under section 17 of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997.

11. The Secretary of State (in this case the Deputy Prime Minister) is to be informed of any such Order made.

OPTIONS

12. Having considered the details of the request from Nettlestone and Seaview Parish Council the Isle of Wight Council is asked to either accept or reject the recommendation made below.

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

13. Wards are used to ensure that separate communities within Parish Council areas are adequately represented on the Parish Council concerned. Historically, Nettlestone and Seaview were originally two distinct villages, but, with time, the perceived boundaries between the two have become blurred, and the Parish Council have now asked for the internal ward boundary to be removed.

14. Before making any decision on the removal of the wards, the Isle of Wight Council needs to satisfy itself that the needs of all electors in terms of representation on the Parish Council will be adequately met, should the wards be removed.

15. By way of comparison, of the 27 existing Parish and Town Councils within the Isle of Wight Council area, 13 are currently warded.

16. Both areas will still be served by their own Polling Stations, so arrangements for voting will be unaffected. Additionally, there will be no alterations to the external boundaries of the Parish Council area, nor to the total number of Parish Councillors.

17. Risks are minimal with this process. Officers must ensure that any subsequent Order is made in accordance with the provisions contained within the Local Government and Rating Act 1997.

RECOMMENDATIONS

18. Given the feedback obtained from the Public Consultation, it is recommended that:

a. That the Isle of Wight Council resolves to approve the request from Nettlestone and Seaview Parish Council to remove the internal wards of that Parish Council, and,

b. That the Order to remove the wards shall take effect from the Parish Council elections on Thursday 5^th May 2005.

Contact Point : Clive Joynes, Electoral Services Officer (01983) 823341

[email protected]

M J A FISHER

Chief Executive Officer