Agenda item

Report No: COU/SA/19/002

(Councillor Sarah Broughton declared a non-pecuniary interest in this item in light of her husband owning land at Great Barton (Severalls) which had been identified as a Polling District within the report.  She would remain in the meeting and would take part in the debate and voting thereon.

Councillor Jim Thorndyke declared a non-pecuniary interest in this item as he currently held the position of Chairman of the Stanton Village Hall Committee and was quoted in this capacity within the report. He would remain in the meeting and would take part in the debate and voting thereon.)

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) reviewed the Council’s electoral arrangements and the final recommendations for the West Suffolk Council ward boundaries were published on 12 October 2018.

The Council was required to review polling districts and places and to approve a new schedule of polling districts to take account of the new ward boundaries; particularly in Brandon, Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Mildenhall and Newmarket where the majority of ward boundaries had changed.

Councillor Ruth Bowman, one of the Cabinet Members for Future Governance, explained that as part of the review comments were sought from members of the public, local political groups, Parish Councils, Borough and District Councillors, County Councillors and the (Acting) Returning Officer for the South Suffolk constituency.  Comments were invited via an online survey or by sending an email or letter to the Electoral Services team.

Councillor Bowman moved that the schedules of Polling Districts and Polling Places, attached as Appendices 3 and 4 of Report No COU/SA/19/002, be approved and this was duly seconded by Councillor Carol Bull.

Councillor David Nettleton spoke on the item and made reference to pages 26, 27 and 33 of the report and the reference therein to a “Bury St Edmunds Councillor” in relation to comments made about polling stations in Abbeygate, Eastgate and Westgate wards. 

Councillor Nettleton confirmed that he was the Councillor in question and explained that his comments in relation to the wards concerned were:

·         A suggestion that the 422 Westgate Ward electors transferred from Abbeygate Ward should continue to vote at the Hyndman Centre on the northern side of Hospital Road;

·         If Bury Town Football Club was found to be unavailable then electors from the Eastgate 2 polling district should be found another easily accessible polling station rather than be asked to travel to Garland Street; and

·         The unsuitability of Whiting Street for electors living south of the river Linnet in Abbeygate 1 due to being an uphill walk and the nearest car parking being some distance away.

For these reasons, Councillor Nettleton explained that he would not be supporting the report unless Recommendation 2 was amended to state that the issue he highlighted with Abbeygate 1, principally, was “investigated further”.

During the debate questions on other elements of the report were posed and the following responses were provided:

·         Confirmation that the letters to be sent to residents advising of a change to their polling district would also include what ward they came under;

·         Assurance that the option to register to postal vote was offered to all residents in West Suffolk;

·         Explanation on the mobile elections app which all polling station contacts had been asked to register with; and

·         Acknowledgement that the polling station listed in Appendix 3 as ‘Parkway Middle School’ was not accurate, as the building in question was now occupied by West Suffolk College following closure of the Middle School.

Councillor Reg Silvester raised a query with regard to Santon Downham Village Hall which had been omitted from the table in Appendix 4.  In response, attention was drawn to the paragraph within Appendix 3 (in relation to the Brandon East ward) which stated:

“Electors in Santon Downham have their own polling station within their parish and therefore do not have to travel to Brandon to vote”.

(*Following the meeting the Electoral Services Manager contacted all Brandon District Councillors and provided them with a corrected version of Appendix 4 which included Santon Downham Village Hall.)

In response to the comments made by Councillor Nettleton, Councillor Carol Bull explained that approximately 1,700 electors from Abbeygate 1 had been assigned Whiting Street as their polling station for the past 9 years, and during that time the Council had received no complaints in relation to access/suitability.

Accordingly, Councillor Bowman stated that the Cabinet Members continued to support the original motion as proposed.

Upon being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED:

That:-

1.   The Schedule of Polling Districts attached as Appendix 4 to Report No COU/SA/19/002 (*as amended) be approved; and

2.   The Schedule of Polling Places attached as Appendix 5 to Report No COU/SA/19/002 be approved.