Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Corporate Services presented the Polling District and Place Review 2024. He said that a review had to be undertaken every five years and the proposed changes in the report reflected feedback from electors and the availability of venues. He said that some polling stations had been moved to be more practical and accessible to voters.

Councillor Dumont acknowledged the work of the elections team who had been out to visit new venues and thanked the venues used as polling stations for making themselves available. He referred to page 85 of the agenda and said there had been a typing error in the number of properties in polling district HKI3 and that it should read 1502.

Councillor Dumont proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Williams seconded the proposal.

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt referred to Appendix B and said that he had proposed alternative locations for the polling districts in Sawbridgeworth but could not see his comments reflected in the report.

Councillor Horner said that the report said that if agreement cannot be reached with the new proposed venues, then usage  would revert to the existing polling stations. He said that the Boys School in Bishop’s Stortford had been demolished so did not exist anymore.

Councillor Dumont confirmed that the church in Bishop’s Stortford had agreed to be a polling station since the report had been published. He said that if a polling station became unavailable then the team would find a suitable replacement.

Councillor Hopewell referred to the suggestion about using the Community Hub instead of the Sele School.

Councillor Dumont said that nowhere[PM1]  else had been identified in that polling district. He said the team had tried to avoid using schools to minimise disruption to students and would continue to look for alternatives.

The motion to support the recommendation having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - That the proposals for Polling Districts and Polling Places in the District, at Appendix A, be adopted and applied to all future elections until the next review in 2029.