Agenda item

That it be recommended to Cabinet:

• That the seventh and eighth guiding principles be clarified as indicated in paragraph 3.02 of the report;
• That the proposals in Appendix A be recommended to Cabinet for consultation;
• That the second formal consultation stage be as indicated in paragraph 3.06 of the report.

The Democracy & Governance Manager introduced a report to recommend to Cabinet the Council’s community review proposals for the purposes of consultation.  He explained the Council’s statutory duty to keep its Town and Community boundaries and electoral arrangements for communities under review and that this was the first comprehensive review undertaken in Flintshire.  Proposals received from interested parties in response to the first formal stage of the consultation process had been carefully considered in preparing the Council’s draft proposals.

As a result of representations made at a meeting with Town and Community Councils in May 2013, clarification had been given that the objective of the seventh and eighth guiding principles was to ensure approximately the same proportion of electors to councillors across the different wards within a town or community.

In moving the recommendation in the report, Councillor Aaron Shotton referred to concerns previously raised by Members on the proposals from the former Boundary Commission and the work which had been undertaken to reach the current position with involvement by County Council, Town and Community Councils and the County Forum.  He spoke of the need to ensure that Town and Community Council opinions were represented and to be mindful of avoiding any confusion to the electorate and for outcomes from the Public Services Commission to be clarified.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin.

Councillor David Wisinger pointed out that the proposal which he had submitted during the first stage of the review related to Queensferry and not Penyffordd.  The Democracy & Governance Manager agreed to amend this.

Councillor Alex Aldridge referred to the need to acknowledge the potential for challenging times ahead and the role of Councils in the delivery of services.

Councillor Robin Guest echoed this view and spoke of the contribution made by local councillors.  He also commented on the reviews of the community boundaries and County wards, suggesting that it would be easier if one body carried out both reviews to minimise confusion.  In response to his query, the Democracy & Governance Manager explained that where there were no proposals to change an external community boundary, the town/community wards arising from the review should lie wholly within a single County Council electoral division.  To avoid confusion at the 2017 Local Government Elections, as the proposal for Mold included changing the external boundary, the Local Democracy & Boundary Commission would be involved and could alter County electoral divisions to correspond with any new Town Council wards.

Councillor Richard Jones said that Flintshire was a well-performing county and that any changes from the review should not affect service levels which should be sustained and improved.

As local Member for the Mold Broncoed ward, Councillor Haydn Bateman endorsed the proposal for this area as he felt this to be a fair compromise.

Councillor Carol Ellis welcomed the proposal for an increased number of councillors in the Buckley Mountain ward to address inconsistencies in the ratio of electorate to councillors and felt that this should also be reflected at County level.

The Chief Executive recognised that a great deal of work had been carried out by the Democracy & Governance Manager in involving the Town and Community Councils.

Councillor Aaron Shotton responded to Members’ comments and thanked the Democracy & Governance Manager’s team for the complex work which had been undertaken.

RESOLVED:

That it be recommended to Cabinet:

• That the seventh and eighth guiding principles be clarified as indicated in paragraph 3.02 of the report;
• That the proposals in Appendix A be recommended to Cabinet for consultation;
• That the second formal consultation stage be as indicated in paragraph 3.06 of the report.