Issue - meetings

The report of the Chief Executive is attached.

It was RESOLVED that the draft response to the second stage of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England consultation be endorsed as the Council’s response, and it be recommended for approval to Full Council.

The Leader, Councillor Robinson presented the report of the Chief Executive outlining the draft response to the second stage of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) consultation, in respect of the electoral review of Rushcliffe. 

The Leader advised that in March 2021, the Council had participated in a boundary review, which had been submitted to the LGBCE.  Cabinet was advised that the LGBCE had decided that Rushcliffe should retain its 44 Councillors, and that a first stage consultation had taken place between May and July, asking for feedback on where the Borough’s ward boundaries should be drawn.  The second stage of the consultation had commenced on 5 October, with Councillors being given the opportunity to comment on the LGBCE’s draft recommendations, and Cabinet noted that the Appendix to the report detailed the Council’s draft response to that second stage of the consultation.

The Leader summarised the LGBCE recommendations, details of which were highlighted in the report at paragraph 4.2 and confirmed that the document would be presented to Council, before its submission to the LGBCE by 13 December.  Cabinet also noted the detailed responses made by Councillors, details of which were highlighted in paragraph 4.4 of the report.

The Leader acknowledged that due to Covid 19, the LGBCE had been forced to undertake this exercise from a distance, and whilst the Council agreed with many of the proposed recommendations, there were a number, including the suggested loss of the Lady Bay ward and changes to Bingham that could not be supported, and the LGBCE should be urged to undertake site visits to those areas and reconsider those recommendations.

In conclusion, the Leader thanked Councillors for their comprehensive responses to such an important issue.

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Brennan referred to the importance of undertaking such reviews, especially where many wards were experiencing considerable growth, to ensure that the population of the Borough was properly reflected in the democratic process.  However, it was reiterated that the proposals for Rushcliffe had essentially been a desk-based exercise and therefore had failed to capture some of the important characteristics of the area, or to understand the way that different settlements and communities within it interacted and were related. 

Councillor Brennan stated that rural areas would be particularly impacted, as was often the case, and referred to the suggested changes to East Bridgford, which would become so extended geographically that members would be required to attend over 15 parish council meetings usually every month, which was unsustainable.  The importance of maintaining natural communities including those at Tollerton and Lady Bay was also emphasised, and those areas would not be well served by the suggested proposals.

In conclusion, Councillor Brennan, referred to the importance of all elected representatives maintaining close connections to their local areas, and whilst welcoming the opportunity to comment on the proposals, it was reiterated that  there were some aspects that did need to be re-examined.

Councillor Moore reiterated the comments made by Councillor Brennan, in particular to the difficulties  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36