Agenda item

To agree the Council’s final recommendations following its Community Governance Review.  

17.1           The report of the Community Governance Review Working Group, circulated at Pages No. 34-67, set out the final recommendations of the Working Group which Members were asked to approve.  

17.2           The Chair of the Community Governance Review Working Group indicated that it had been 20 years since the last Parish review and changes as a result of the Tewksbury (Electoral Changes) Order 2018 (Review of Borough Wards) and the extensive level of development in the Borough had necessitated that a full Community Governance Review (CGR) of the Borough’s Parishes be undertaken. In June 2021, the Executive Committee had agreed to undertake a Boroughwide CGR, had approved the Terms of Reference and established a Working Group to undertake the review. The Terms of Reference covered the scope of the review which included alteration of boundaries and the number of Parish Councillors. Initial consultation had taken place from 15 June to 15 September 2021 which involved a wide range of individuals and groups being invited to make submissions including MPs, County and Borough Councillors, political parties, Parish Councils and the public via social media and website advertising. 23 submissions had been received and considered in detail by the Working Group which had then prepared draft recommendations that had been endorsed by the Executive Committee on 5 January 2022 and released for public consultation between 3 February and 31 March 2022. Again, all Members were included in the consultation on the draft recommendations as well as those groups, organisations, individuals etc. that were consulted at the initial stage. In response to the draft recommendations, 10 submissions were received from Parish/Town Councils / Parish Meetings, 68 from members of the public, local residents and organisations together with a petition containing 135 signatories.  The Chair drew particular attention to a couple of matters together with a few amendments to be included in the draft recommendations as follows:

·      Section 5.4.1 to be amended to ensure the view of the Parish Council was accurately represented as it had stated that in its submission regarding the Draft Recommendations (31 March 2022) that the Council had notexpressed support for the draft recommendation – amended from:

“It was acknowledged that there was support for, and some opposition to, the        draft recommendations, although on balance more support was received to       split Dumbleton and Wormington and that this view was shared by Dumbleton    Parish Council”.

                        to

                        “It was acknowledged that there was support for, and some opposition to, the       draft recommendations, although on balance more support was received to split Dumbleton and Wormington. Dumbleton Parish Council submitted no           objection to the draft recommendation based on the letters of         representation it had received from parishioners”.

·      The second amendment was to add a final recommendation as follows:-

“All other Parishes – the boundaries of all other Parishes to remain unchanged”.

                  In terms of the recommendations of specific note, he referred to Recommendation 4.4.2 – in relation to Coopers Edge – and explained that this was considered very carefully by the Working Group on at least three occasions, and it had a specific meeting to consider the matter. The Working Group was unanimously of the view that a Coopers Edge Parish Council made up of the areas within the Borough will not be beneficial to the residents. It wholeheartedly supported a Coopers Edge Parish Council made up of the three areas of Coopers Edge, which included the area in Stroud, but this was outside the remit of the Working Group and would require a principle area review. Two parts of an area made up of three parts would not work and it would be better for residents to wait for this to be achieved in the future. Secondly, Recommendation 6.4.4 – changes to the boundary between Longford and Sandhurst - there had been a significant public response to the draft recommendation that the land between the A40 and the existing Longford Parish boundary, comprising the community of Walham, be transferred to the Parish of Sandhurst. There was no community support for this recommendation and there was, in fact, significant opposition on the grounds that the area of Walham was closer to Longford, there being no ties between the residents of Walham and Sandhurst, the draft recommendation offering no greater community identity for the residents of Walham, that there was a physical disconnect between Sandhurst and Walham during periods of flooding, and that Sandhurst was a rural community lacking facilities/amenities to accommodate additional numbers but Longford had resources and infrastructure to support the community of Walham. The Working Group’s final recommendation was therefore to leave the boundary between Sandhurst and Longford unchanged.

17.3           In terms of the next steps, any consequential amendments to Borough Wards and the four Parishes of Bishops Cleeve, Brockworth, Churchdown and Tewkesbury needed to be approved by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England and, in order for everything to be in place for the 2023 elections, the changes had to be submitted by June. Any changes in the recommendations before Members tonight would require further consultation and would either need to be dealt with separately or, if the whole review was sent back, would not be implemented until the local elections in 2027. The Working Group Chair proposed that the final recommendations in relation to each Parish/Town Council within the Borough of Tewkesbury be approved as set out at Appendix 1 including the two amendments suggested in relation to Paragraph 5.4.1 to clarify the position of Dumbleton Parish Council and an additional recommendation in relation to no changes to the boundaries of all other parishes in the Borough and that the Corporate Director be authorised to request the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) to make related alteration orders to change Borough Wards and County Divisions to reflect the changes made to Parish Boundaries including those Parishes protected as part of the last review forming part of the Tewkesbury (Electoral Changes) Order 2018; and, subject to receiving the necessary consents from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, to make a Reorganisation of Community Governance Order to implement the changes agreed by Council. The proposal was seconded.

17.4           A Member referred to Bishops Cleeve Parish Council and advised that it was concerned about the boundary next to Gotherington and why it would not be moved as well as why the site known as North Cleevelands was not included as, in their view, it put the site at greater risk of being developed. In response, the Chair of the Working Group explained that he could not say how secure a site was going forward but it was not within the Borough Plan and, as such, not seen to be a major issue. In addition, schools were very separate in their boundaries from Parishes - the information was all contained within the report at Paragraphs 3.2-3.4 and the Working Group had nothing to add. A number of Members raised concerns about the area of Coopers Edge not having its own Parish Council and how the divisions in the area could be overcome. In response, the Chair of the Working Group explained that the Working Group had recognised that Coopers Edge had its own identity and understood that the issue needed to be looked at as a whole; however this was not the remit of the current review. There had been very little feedback from Coopers Edge residents to the consultation compared to other areas. The main issue was that the infrastructure was located within Stroud District and it made no sense to make a Parish Council out of the two residential areas in Tewkesbury Borough if the community would have no infrastructure.

17.5           Having been proposed and seconded, it was

                  RESOLVED          1. That the final recommendations in relation to each                                              Parish/Town Council within the Borough of Tewkesbury be                                     APPROVED as set out in Appendix 1 to the report subject to                                 the following amendments:

a.    Paragraph 5.4.1 to clarify the position of Dumbleton Parish Council.

b.    An additional recommendation in relation to no changes to the boundaries of all other parishes in the Borough.

                                                 2.   That the Corporate Director be authorised to:

                                                            a. Request the Local Government Boundary                                                                             Commission for England to make related alteration                                                              orders to change Borough Wards and County                                                                      Divisions to reflect the changes made to Parish                                                                           boundaries, including those Parishes protected as                                                       part of the last review forming part of the Tewkesbury                                                        (Electoral Changes) Order 2018.

                                                            b. Subject to receiving the necessary consents from the                                                          Local Government Boundary Commission for                                                                       England, to make a Reorganisation of Community                                                               Governance Order to implement the changes agreed                                                              by the Council.