Decision details

COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW - DRAFT PROPOSALS FOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Decision Maker: Council

Decision status: Recommendations approved

Is Key decision?: No

Is subject to call in?: No

Decision:

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

(1)   Noted the outcome of the first stage consultation.

 

(2)   Agreed the Draft Proposals for the Community Governance Review, launching a public consultation on these [note that the Final Recommendations will be considered at a future Council meeting, taking the results of the public consultation into account] to subject to the following amendments:

 

i     Letchworth:

 

Draft Proposals

(1) Create a new parish for Letchworth, served by a new Town Council, subject to engagement from local residents through the consultation, with wards to align to the district wards:

Grange: 3

Norton: 2

South East: 3

South West: 3

Wilbury: 2

(2)To ensure local people are aware of the proposal to establish a Town Council and the opportunities and implications of it, hard-copy leaflets should be produced with the Comms team and distributed to every household in Letchworth inviting them to respond to the consultation. The information will be entirely neutral, leaving the opportunity for local people to discuss and motivate the decision.

           

       ii.  That the proposed number of councillors for parishes with fewer than 500

            electors be reduced from 7 to 5.

 

(3)   Noted that hard-copy leaflets will be distributed to households in areas where external parish boundaries are proposed to be moved, new parish councils established, or new parish wards implemented.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS: The Council is required to keep parish electoral arrangements under review. Following the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) review of district electoral arrangements (Council size and warding patterns), it is necessary to review parish arrangements across the district to bring them into alignment, ensure they remain fit for purpose, and to ensure they continue to reflect local needs. This report provides Draft Proposals following the first round of public consultation. Before Final Recommendations can be developed and considered, there must be a public consultation on the Draft Proposals, the responses to which will be taken into account in forming the Final Recommendations.

Report author: Melanie Stimpson

Publication date: 03/03/2025

Date of decision: 27/02/2025

Decided at meeting: 27/02/2025 - Council

Accompanying Documents: