Agenda item

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt presented the representation from Sawbridgeworth Town Council (STC):

·       STC had been consistently opposed to warding. This cross party view was a long standing one and well evidenced and had been rejected by a clear majority of cllrs with 11 cllrs against and 1 abstention. This position was also shared by all three EH district cllrs and the county cllr.

·       Community identity and interests – Sawbridgeworth had a single community and did not have distinct zones and neighbourhoods with all facilities centrally located. Issues that arise in one area affect others and the reality demands town wide governance.

·       Community cohesion – there were strengths with the current model as residents can contact any of the 12 representative without having to check who is their cllr. STC was a collective body serving a single community. Warding of the town would be a major change and residents were likely not be aware where boundaries fell. There was currently a thematic responsibility amongst members and warding the town could cause unnecessary friction.

·       Effective and convenient governance – there were various political groups and diverse representation without the need to ward the town. There were instances where cllrs had to be coopted in 2020 and 2022 and warding could worsen recruitment. A resident wishing to stand might want to stand to serve whole town, not one ward and this would be a loss to democracy. Operationally, STC had a small team of officers and warding of the town could increase their workload, and cllrs may have to compete for officer time and increase need from residents.

·       Every four years, the Town Action Plan reflects community priorities and guides the term. The plan making process actively seeks and collates views across the town. Warding introduces risks that approach becomes fragmented. Think about own ward instead of whole town.

·       Fair and balance elected representation – residents know who local cllrs are and balanced as can be.

·       If review was to proceed with draft recommendation, there should be consideration given to how fair. Currently proposal suggests warding based on current polling districts which would be unworkable due to the variance in electoral sizes. SAW1 has 3000 electors, SAW2 has 280 electors. There was no detailed implementation plan presented as part of process.

·        There had been repeated objections and it was important to reflect on whole review process. If it moves forward against direct objections, residents might feel that the process has been predetermined which would be damaging to trust in local democracy.

·        Hope that committee give due consideration to objections.

·        Understand thought process behind, and there was a logic on the surface and recognise that it would make administration of elections more straightforward. But this should not be the driving reason to split up a cohesive town.

Councillor Jacobs said that Sawbridgeworth was one of the largest towns that was not warded. He asked if Sawbridgeworth could see a time where it could be beneficial to ward the town, especially if the town was to grow.

STC said that they were fair minded and were not saying never. If there was a significant increase in residents and a change to how the community operated then there could be case. They stressed that this should not be a blanket approach.