Agenda item

The Chair of the Community Governance Review working group, Councillor Joe Thomas presented the report. He said that the group had spent 12 months carefully considering and extensively consulting to arrive at the report’s final 12 recommendations, which would serve communities better.

 

Councillor Thomas said that in relation to Aston Parish Council, the recommendation to defer a decision until 2026 would enable the number of registered electors in Hazel Park to increase.

 

Councillor Thomas said that the recommendation to extend Bishop’s Stortford Town Council to run parallel with Thorley Street made most sense to give new communities effective representation.

 

Councillor Thomas said that with regards to Sawbridgeworth, opposition was that warding would destroy the fabric of the community, but other town councils worked well and benefitted from warding.

He said that the recommendation was therefore to ward into 4, along the polling district boundaries.

 

Councillor Thomas said that the same principles applied to the recommendation for Buntingford, dividing into 2 wards along the B1038.

 

Councillor Thomas said that throughout the process the group had been guided by the statutory requirements, and he acknowledged the passion and engagement of contributors throughout the process.

 

Councillor Thomas proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Nicholls seconded the proposal and reserved her right to speak.

 

Councillor Williamson said that the Conservative Group had two amendments that they wished to put forward, which related to the recommendations for Sawbridgeworth and Buntingford. He said that the amendments had been circulated to Members before the meeting, giving them the opportunity to read them.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt proposed the following amendment:

 

Amend point iii of Recommendation (a) of the report as follows:

 

•             Replace point iii) (“That Sawbridgeworth Town Council be warded […] West ward = 4.”)

 

•             With: iii) That Sawbridgeworth Town Council remains unchanged.

 

So that the amended recommendation (a) reads as follows:

Recommendation (a):

 

That the proposals set out below be adopted by the Council as Final Recommendations for the

purposes of the Community Governance Review: […]

 

iii. That Sawbridgeworth Town Council remains unchanged.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt spoke to the amendment, he extended his thanks to the working group and said that the although the majority of the proposals were proportionate, he could not vote in favour of all of the recommendations in their current form. 

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said that the views of Sawbridgeworth residents and councillors could not be ignored, and to do so would be in contravention of the purpose of the review. He said that the amendment to keep Sawbridgeworth unchanged was not about party politics, with objections to warding by the town council cross-party. He said that this rare unity should be taken seriously, and that if the council was a listening council, they should listen when communities responded strongly.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said that the main issue with the proposal was electoral representation and equality. He said that warding based on the current polling districts would see 1 councillor with 174 electors, and 5 other councillors, with a ratio of 1 to 730, which would give an imbalance, and which went against guidance from The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said that the proposal also risked the identity and cohesion of Sawbridgeworth as a community, which was a town where all facilities were centrally located. He said that the proposed ward names did not reflect geographically, with no consultation regarding these launched with residents or the town council.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said that the guidance was clear, that due consideration should be given to the preference of the local community. He said that the electorate forecasts for the next 5 years had not been provided, and that these contraventions undermined confidence in the review process, risking reputational damage and legal challenges.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said that the intention was not to block change forever, but to remove the flawed recommendation for now. He said that there was an option to come back after the review, with proper consultation and communication with residents. He asked that Members look beyond party politics and do what was right for the community, protecting electoral fairness and proving that the council did listen.   

 

Councillor E Buckmaster seconded the amendment and reserved his right to speak.

 

Councillor Hoskin questioned how, without consultation, it was known that the public did not want the proposal.

 

Councillor R Buckmaster said that she has spoken with lots of residents. She said that the review was not publicised fully and that she was appalled that the proposal was being put forward.

 

Councillor Jacobs assured Members that the suggestion that the working party hadn’t listened to concerns was not the case, adding that they had listened carefully. He said that for the working party to not agree with comments, was not the same as ignoring them.

 

Councillor Jacobs said that the working group could not find another example in the country of a town which was not warded. He said that as a ward councillor, it was much easier to do his job when representing part of a town.

 

Councillor Jacobs addressed the point of the proposed uneven ward sizes. He said that this was due to the significantly smaller hamlet of Spellbrook, which was separate from Sawbridgeworth, but within the boundary of Sawbridgeworth parish, with its own primary school. He said that it was definitely not part of Sawbridgeworth town, with very strong argument to separate its representation on the town council.

 

Councillor Daar asked what Sawbridgeworth Town Council did to circulate that the review was taking place to residents.

 

Councillor Hopewell echoed the comments of Councillor Jacobs. She said that in her experience of being a Hertford Town Councillor, warding enriched conversations and that there was no fighting over resources for particular wards.

 

Councillor E Buckmaster said that the matter should be discussed at a public Town Council meeting, with an agenda published in advance. He said that he had not heard what the benefits of warding Sawbridgeworth were, and that no residents had come forward to ask why the town was not warded or ask who their representative was.

 

Councillor E Buckmaster said that he had served on Sawbridgeworth Town Council for 18 years, and that nothing which was ward specific had ever arisen. He said that residents addressed the Town Council as a whole, and that issues were escalated to upper authorities when necessary.

 

Councillor E Buckmaster said that Sawbridgeworth had a strong history of independent Members, which warding could discourage. He said that the current choice of candidates across the town in a single ward gave the greatest form of democracy, with electors able to vote for a mix of both party and independent candidates. He urged Members not to take this ability away and said that if it could not be articulated properly why residents would benefit from warding, then it should not be done.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt referred again to the review process, he said that this did not give an accurate view of Sawbridgeworth, and misunderstood points of electoral representation and equality. He asked that Members vote for the amendment and that the process came back to be reviewed again.   

 

Having been proposed and seconded, the amended motion was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared LOST.

 

Councillor Holt proposed the following amendment;

 

Amend point IV of Recommendation (a) of the report as follows:

 

•             Replace point IV) “That Buntingford Town Council be split into two wards named North and South along the B1038 with six councillors representing each ward.”

 

•             With: IV) “That Buntingford Town Council remains unchanged.”

 

Councillor Holt thanked all of the Councillors and officers involved in the working group. He said that in summary he believed that he had a duty to speak up where the wishes of the community were being overlooked, and that it felt like a generic governance structure was being pushed on Buntingford, the smallest town in Hertfordshire.

 

Councillor Holt said that the Town Council functioned well and had kept party politics out of decision making for 54 years. He said that nobody wanted change, and that the Mayor of Buntingford had given representations. He questioned why the proposal was therefore being pushed ahead, dividing a town which did not want to be divided.

 

Councillor Holt said that the proposal went against guidance, creating problems were none existed and making illogical boundaries. He said that the 600 plus homes which were proposed to be built in Buntingford in coming years had been ignored, and he therefore questioned the rush for change now. 

 

Councillor Holt said that residents shared the same high street and sense of community, with groups working across the whole town to resolve issues quickly.

 

Councillor Andrews seconded the amendment and reserved his right to speak.

 

Councillor Glover-Ward said that she represented a ward, which gave better focus and still allowed people to vote across party lines. She said that the working group had delved into much detail and had followed the correct procedure, having been guided by officers.

 

Councillor Nicholls said that she was in favour of warding Buntingford, agreeing that it was sensible to spilt the town along the B158, which took into consideration two large housing developments.  She said that there was flexibility with the boundary if future needs arose, and that she had received no negative feedback from residents, with many in favour of the proposal. 

 

Councillor Nicholls said that it was not clear what form of discussion took place at Buntingford Town Council, as no details or minutes were available on this subject. She added that during the public consultation no comments were received from councillors or the public. Councillor Nicholls said that residents would benefit from a ward councillor, who would still be able to act in the best interest of the whole town. 

 

Councillor Crystall thanked the working group for their work, and councillors for the amendments. He observed the number of towns of similar size to Sawbridgeworth and Buntingford which were not warded, and as there were not many, the reasons for this. He referred to the representations which spoke of the divides that would be formed by the creation of ward boundaries and said that this was not the case in Hertford, Ware or Bishop’s Stortford. He added that he had personally experienced no ward competitiveness.

 

Councillor Crystall said that ward names were an emotive issue, but not a critical issue. He said that he represented the ward of Hertford All Saints, which contained St Andrews Church, which was not logical. He said the important issue was representation and helping residents to understand who their representatives were.

 

Councillor Crystall said that the council had been listening, and that when there were issues in Buntingford lots of emails were received from residents. He said that in the case of the review, no real campaign or communication regarding people’s views had been received. He concluded that warding would be a positive thing for residents.

 

Councillor Bull said that he had served on Buntingford Town Council for over 40 years and was not against change. He said that Buntingford was unique in many ways, and that issues were thrashed out by councillors acting for the whole town.

 

Councillor E Buckmaster said that he still had not heard how Buntingford would benefit from the proposal and reiterated that the towns in question were not the same as others within East Herts. He said that under the current system residents could vote for as many candidates as they wished, but warding could throw up discrepancies, such as candidates all wanting to stand for one particular ward.

 

Councillor Woollcombe said that the proposal for Buntingford had come as a surprise, as no consultation had happened.

 

Councillor Hart observed that the arguments for and against the proposal had been succinctly made, with those in opposition of warding being councillors in the towns concerned. She said that warding itself would not necessarily lead to greater cooperation.

 

Councillor T Smith said that he did not see any logical reason to ward Buntingford, with the Town Council against it. He echoed the comments of other Members and said that there was no reason for warding.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said that the council had a process for the review to enable residents to submit representations, and that he trusts that this was run. He said that in terms of wider communication, town councils fed into this process and raised issues on 3 occasions. He said that he was yet to hear reasons as to why warding was good for either.

 

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt said that the examples of warding in Hertford, Ware and Bishops Stortford were largely based on an equal balance of electors. He said that the point that the consultation had not followed government guidance had been raised in both amendments and he asked if the legal officer could advise on the process should guidance have not been followed. 

 

At this point in the meeting, as it was approaching 10pm, Councillor Crystall proposed a motion that the meeting continue past 10pm. Councillor Glover-Ward seconded the motion.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, the motion was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that the meeting continue past 10pm.

 

Councillor Copley said that in relation to the benefits of warding, people found it daunting to approach a whole council, and feedback was that they would feel more comfortable engaging with a smaller number of Members.

 

Councillor Thomas said that warding can work in small environments, and cited Tewin as an example of this.

 

Councillor Jacobs said that the working group were unable to find any councils the same size of Buntingford which were not warded. He said that he was surprised to hear some Members say that the process had come out of the blue, as it had been discussed in the chamber previously.

 

Councillor Jacobs said that it had been heard that Buntingford Town Council was overwhelmingly against the proposal, but only 3 responses were received from the consultation, 2 for and 1 against. He said that in relation to Sawbridgeworth there were 11 responses, 8 of which were from the Town Council.

 

Councillor Williamson again raised the point that the process had not followed guidance laid down by the Boundary Commission. 

 

The Director for Legal, Policy and Governance said that the working group were assisted by 2 officers throughout the process, and that officers were happy that guidance had been followed.

Councillor Hopewell echoed the comments made by Members regarding the benefits of warding and said that looking through feedback there did not seem to be an overwhelming objection to this from residents. She said that the Town Council had objected, discussing it between themselves instead of with residents, and that there was no information regarding the review on their Facebook page or website.

 

Councillor Hopewell said that another benefit of warding was that residents had a named representative within their ward to approach, as opposed to the people of Buntingford who currently had to go through the Town Clerk.

 

Councillor Andrews sad that although he didn’t represent Buntingford, he used a car repairer, a dentist and collected his prescriptions in the town. He said that Buntingford supported its satellite villages, and was a proud town, with a vibrant high street, which unusually most of the residents could walk to in 15 minutes.

 

Councillor Andrews said that there was no appetite for warding, and that the Town Council was well run and cost effective. He said that Buntingford had had a lot imposed on it, being the first to produce its own neighbourhood plan. He urged Members to let the town make its own decision, saying it was not time for East Herts Council to impose something else on them which was not wanted.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, the amended motion was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared LOST.

 

The debate therefore returned to the original recommendations in the report.

 

Councillor Butcher said that he wished to put on record that Ware Town Council were bemused when the proposal came through. He said that it was sensible to tidy things up but not push forward at this time. He said that WARE2 was supposed to be underway, and would happen by 2027, meaning a review would come back in the future.

 

Councillor Stowe asked if the recommendations would be voted for ‘en bloc’. He asked if recommendation I could be pulled out.

 

The Director for Legal, Policy and Governance asked if Members would like any of the recommendations to be pulled out, leaving those remaining for a block vote.

 

Councillor Williamson asked if recommendations III and IV could be voted on separately. 

 

The Director for Legal, Policy and Governance said that as there was broad agreement within the Chamber, they would proceed with a block vote for all of the recommendations except for I, III and IV, and that these recommendations would then be voted on individually.

 

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 a) that the proposals set out below be adopted by the Council as Final Recommendations for the purposes of the Community Governance Review.

 

II. That the boundary for Bishop’s Stortford Town Council be extended parallel to Thorley Street, running behind the existing houses, down to the A1184 along to Obrey Way to incorporate the St James’ Park development.

V. That the Rush Green roundabout be moved into the Hertford Kingsmead East ward of Hertford Town Council.

 

VI. That the boundary between Ware Town Council and Wareside Parish Council remain unchanged.

 

VII. That Hertingfordbury Parish Council have their councillor numbers reduced to 9.

 

VIII. That Stanstead St Margaret’s and Stanstead Abbotts parish councils remain unchanged.

 

IX. That the southern boundary to follow the entire length of the B181 to the Amwell Roundabout, then follow the northern part of that roundabout, and proceed along the B1502 to its current intersection with Old Hertford Road.

 

X. That no change be made to Brent Pelham parish council’s name. XI. That Buckland Parish Council be renamed Buckland and Chipping Parish Council.

 

XII. That Stapleford Parish Council be renamed Stapleford and Waterford Parish Council

 

b) That the consent of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) be sought in respect of those Final Recommendations where required before a reorganisation order is made.

 

c) That the Director for Law, Policy and Governance be given delegated authority to prepare and make an order under Section 86 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

 

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 I) the final recommendation for Aston Parish Council be deferred until 2026 where a further CGR should look at creating a community council for the Hazel Park development when the implications of Local Government Reorganisation are fully understood and there are a greater number of registered electors.

 

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 III) Sawbridgeworth Town Council be warded into four wards along the polling district boundaries and the number of councillors be as follows: South ward = 5, Spellbrook ward = 1, Central ward = 2, West ward = 4.

 

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 IV) Buntingford Town Council be split into two wards named North and South along the B1038 with six councillors representing each ward.