new community governance arrangements for brickhill and ......three 23 may 2013 23 may 2013...

Appendix A

Draft Recommendations

New Community Governance Arrangements for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes (including the Woodlands Park development)

November 2013

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For information on obtaining this publication in another language or in a large-print or Braille version, please contact Bedford Borough Council: Tel: (01234) 276983 Email: [email protected] © Bedford Borough Council 2013

The mapping in this report is reproduced from OS mapping by Bedford Borough Council with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey 100049028. You are not permitted to copy, sub-license, distribute or sell any of this data to third parties in any form.

mailto:[email protected]

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Contents

Summary 5

1 Introduction 9

2 Undertaking the review 12

3 Analysis and draft recommendations 14

Submissions received 14 Electorate figures 15 Parish Council size and Electoral Fairness 17 Electoral arrangements 17 General analysis 18 Conclusions 24

4 What happens next? 25

5 Mapping 27

Appendices

A.1 Code of Practice on written consultation 28

A.2 Draft recommendations for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes 29

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A.3

Map of the draft recommendations concerning areas of new and altered Parishes 34

A.4 Additional legislation we have considered 36

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Summary Bedford Borough Council is the principal Council for the Borough of Bedford and is designated in law as the body to review community governance arrangements in its area. Community governance reviews provide the opportunity for principal councils to review and make changes to community governance within their areas. Such reviews are often, although not exclusively, in circumstances such as where there have been changes in population, or in reaction to specific or local new issues. A community governance review offers an opportunity to put in place strong, clearly defined boundaries, tied to firm ground features, and remove any anomalous parish boundaries that exist. Parish boundaries may be used to provide the building blocks for Borough Council Ward boundaries in future electoral reviews. The community governance review for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes is being conducted as follows:

Stage Original Stage StartsRevised Stage Starts Description

One 23 February 2013 23 February 2013 Publication of the Terms of Reference and formal start of the review

Two 23 February 2013

23 February 2013 (Followed by an extended period from 23 July – 22 September)

Initial period of consultation – general invitation of submissions with particular request for views on the future of the community governance arrangements for Woodlands Park

Three 23 May 2013

23 May 2013 (Followed by a further period from 23September – 25 October 2013)

Consideration of submissions received during stage Two. Draft recommendations determined by the General Purposes Committee on 18 June 2013/5 November 2013

Four 25 July 2013 Proposed 11 November 2013

Draft recommendations are published. Consultation on draft recommendations determined in stage Three.

Five 26 October 2013

Proposed 6-10 January 2014

Consideration of submissions received during stage Four. Final recommendations determined by the Borough Council’s General Purposes Committee, published and submitted to the Council meeting on 5 February 2014

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Undertaking the review To coincide with the start of the review, public notice was given in the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper on 24 February 2013. A dedicated web page was created on the Borough Council’s website, articles included in Brickhill Parish Council’s newsletter, the Woodlands Park News and a news-sheet produced by Ravensden Parish Council. These publications were circulated in the review area. These publications included a reply postcard with a freepost address. Public meetings were held at St Marks Community Centre, Ravensden Village Hall and Anjulita Court in order to promote the review. Following the decision for an extended period of the Stage Two Consultation a further advertisement was placed in Brickhill Parish Newsletter and postcards were produced and circulated to facilitate responses. The advertisement and the postcards referred to the Council’s web page for this review and this in turn provided for online responses to be submitted. Submissions received

During the initial element of Stage Two of this review, the Borough Council received 410 submissions. During the extended element of Stage Two of the review there were a further 590 submissions.

Analysis and draft recommendations Electorate figures Bedford Borough Council submitted electorate forecasts for February 2018, a period five years on from the February 2013 electoral roll which is the basis for this review. These forecasts projected an increase in the electorate of less than 1% over this period. This indicates a particularly steady overall electorate position over the five years and this is helpful in considering future community governance review. Existing Parish arrangements Currently, the area of the review is within two separate Parishes; Brickhill and Ravensden. Both Parishes have Parish Councils. Ravensden Parish Council has seven Parish Councillors and Brickhill has 13 Parish Councillors. Brickhill Parish has three Parish Wards and Ravensden is not divided into Parish Wards. Brickhill’s Parish Wards are Brickhill East (represented by four Parish Councillors), Brickhill North (represented by four Parish Councillors) and Brickhill South and West (represented by five Parish Councillors).

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The Woodlands Park development is within the current Ravensden Parish albeit that it is only accessed by Road from Brickhill Parish. Woodland Park has an urban character similar to Brickhill and the development is to the immediate north of Brickhill Parish. General analysis Having considered the submissions received during Stage Two, the draft recommendation has been developed so that Ravensden Parish should be altered to exclude the area of the Woodlands Park development. Maintaining the status quo position of Woodlands Park as part of Ravensden Parish did not receive strong support from those in the review area. There is no draft recommendation to ‘de-parish’ the Woodland Park area as this too did not receive any strong support. It is though recommended that the area of Brickhill Parish be altered to include the Woodlands Park development. In this recommendation the Woodlands Park area would become a Parish Ward in its own right. The draft recommendations propose that the altered Parish of Ravensden remains without Parish Wards, that it should have a Parish Council and that it should continue with seven Parish Councillors. For Brickhill Parish the draft recommendations are also that it should continue with a Parish Council and that the overall size of the Parish Council should increase to 15 Parish Councillors. The Parish would have Parish Wards based on the existing three Parish Wards and a new Parish Ward for Woodlands Park. This new Parish Ward would have two Parish Councillors representing it on the Parish Council. What happens next? There will now be a consultation period, during which we encourage comment on the draft recommendation for electoral arrangements for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes contained in this report. We take this consultation very seriously and it is therefore important that all those interested in the review should let us have their views and evidence, whether or not they agree with these draft recommendations (or propose an alternative option). We will take into account all submissions received by 6 January 2014. Any received after this date may not be taken into account. Local views backed up by demonstrable reasons/evidence are particularly welcome. All the submissions received during the consultation period will be considered before preparing the final recommendations. Express your views by writing directly to us: Head of Registration and Records Bedford Borough Council Borough Hall Cauldwell Street Bedford MK42 9AP Email: [email protected]

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The full report is available to download at www.bedford.gov.uk.

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1 Introduction 1. The Borough Council’s General Purposes Committee formally decided to commence this review of community governance for

Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes on 22 January 2013. The Terms of Reference for the review were then published on 23 February 2013 and this marked the start of the review. The initial period of the review concerned itself with publicising the review and inviting comments generally. In view of the consequences for the review, consultation specifically sought submissions on the future community governance arrangements for the Woodlands Park development (currently in the Parish of Ravensden).

2. In this report there is reference to polling districts. A polling district is a geographical sub-division of an electoral area, such as a

Parish, Borough Ward and/or parliamentary constituency. Details of the current Polling Districts in the Borough of Bedford are available on the Council’s website at: http://www.bedford.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/elections/2011_polling_districtplaces.aspx

What is a Community Governance Review? 3. A Community Governance Review is a review under and in accordance with Part 4, Chapter 3 of the Local Government and

Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The 2007 Act gives the responsibility for undertaking community governance reviews to the principal council for the area. In the case of the Borough of Bedford this is the Bedford Borough Council.

4. Community governance is the arrangements and organisations that provide for community representation or community

engagement in the review area. This can be parish meetings and parish councils but, likewise, could be other arrangements and organisations.

5. It is a duty of the Borough Council in undertaking a community governance review to seek to secure that community governance

within the review area reflects the identities and interests of the community in that area and is effective and convenient. 6. The Government and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England published guidance on community governance

reviews in March 2010 and due regard has been given to that guidance in undertaking this community governance review. 7. The Borough Council must take such steps as it considers sufficient to inform local government electors and other parties with an

interest in the review about the review. It must then consult those electors and other parties and take account of any representations received in connection with the review.

http://www.bedford.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/elections/2011_polling_districtplaces.aspx

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Why are we conducting a review in Brickhill and Ravensden? 8. The allocation of land north of Brickhill Parish for development was included in the Borough of Bedford’s Local Plan in 2002.

This allocation had not originally been included in the draft Local Plan published in February 1997; but was a recommendation of the Planning Inspector following the Public Inquiry held between 19 February 1999 and 28 January 2000. The proposal for the allocation of land for development had been made by Bedfordia Developments Ltd.

9. The planning application for the development of Woodlands on the land referred to above was then submitted by Bedfordia

developments Ltd. The application was not determined by the Borough Council and on appeal, involving an inquiry held in November 2002, it was granted permitting the development of up to 500 residential units and a Country Park. The first completions on the site took place in the year 2006/7.

10. At the commencement of this review, there were a total of 522 properties identified in the electoral register within the NP Polling

District that relates to the Woodlands Park development. The extent of the development since 2006/7, with the characteristics set out elsewhere in this report is a sufficient reason for a community governance review by the Borough Council. The Brickhill and Ravensden Parish Councils have argued for a review for several years prior to the Borough Council commencing the review.

11. The review area did not extend beyond the current boundaries of the two Parishes of Brickhill and Ravensden. As such, the

review could not address the issue of whether certain premises in Clapham Parish should form part of Brickhill Parish. The St Thomas More RC Upper School is within Clapham Parish but is accessed from Tyne Crescent in Brickhill Parish.

12. The Terms of Reference also drew attention to potentially anomalous considerations in respect of certain properties along the

Parish Boundary with the unparished area within Putnoe Borough Ward. How will the recommendations affect you? 13. The recommendations reference possible future structures for local representation and engagement in what is currently the two

Parishes of Brickhill and Ravensden. They include what parish you may live in and what its name is. The recommendations also include the numbers of councillors that will represent you on the council for the parish. The work of a Parish Council falls on the parish councillors and the parish council officials. If the recommendations are wrong it will affect how effectively the new/amended parish councils will function.

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Who at the Borough Council makes these decisions? 14. The Borough Council’s General Purposes Committee usually authorises a Community Governance Review and the Terms of

Reference for those reviews. Any final recommendations from a Community Governance Review will be submitted by the General Purposes Committee to the full Council. It will be the full Council of all 40 Borough Councillors and the Mayor who will make the decision whether to adopt the final recommendations.

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2 Undertaking the review 15. The Terms of Reference for the Review were published on 23 February 2013 (after being approved by the Borough

Council’s General Purposes Committee on 22 January 2013). This marked the formal start of the review. The review must be concluded within 12 months of the publication of the Terms of Reference.

16. At the point of commencing the review there were the following electors in the seven Polling Districts shown within the

review area of the Parishes of Brickhill and Ravensden:

Polling District

Total Electors (February 2013)

16 + 17 Year Old included in

the Total

Over 70 Year Olds included in

the Total Non-

Commonwealth or Irish –

European Union Electors

Numbers of Properties (February

2013)

Brickhill Parish BB 2211 52 271 89 1129 BA 2012 43 533 85 1078 BC 1591 28 301 68 933 BD 871 26 105 71 460

Ravensden Parish NP 1049 31 83 56 522 NQ 399 8 93 6 213 NR 195 3 30 0 101

17. Polling District NP is the area in which the Woodlands Park development is situated. From the above figures for 16 and

17 year olds, over 70s and European Union nationals (other than Commonwealth and Irish nationals), the electors in the NP Polling District could be said to have a different composition than the two other Polling Districts within Ravensden Parish. It could be said that the demographic data for the Woodlands Park Polling District is closer to those of Brickhill Parish’s Polling Districts.

Informing and Consulting local government electors and others 18. At the time of publishing the terms of reference for the review a copy was made available on a dedicated page on the

Council’s website and also at the Borough Council’s Customer Service Centre on Horne Lane, Bedford. Through this page, views could be expressed using an online survey. It also gave telephone, email and postal addresses for questions to be raised about the review or to express views.

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19. Public Notice of the commencement of the Community Governance Review was included in the Bedfordshire on Sunday

Newspaper on 24 February 2013. This was intended to give due notice to all those who could have an interest in the review. This was followed by an article being published in the in Brickhill Parish Council’s newsletter, the Woodlands Park News and a news-sheet produced by Ravensden Parish Council. These publications were circulated in the review area. These publications included a reply postcard with a freepost address. Public meetings were held at St Marks Community Centre, Ravensden Village Hall and Anjulita Court in order to promote the review.

20. Brickhill Parish Council included reference to the review on its website in the same way as the Woodlands Park

Residents Association included reference on its website. 21. In the week commencing 4 March 2013 posters were displayed on the noticeboards of the Parish Councils. These

advertised the review and an appropriate public meeting. 22. The public meetings were held on the following days and the number of attendees at each is shown below:

Venue for Public Meeting Date of Public Meeting

Number of Attendees

St Mark's Church Community Centre, Calder Rise, Bedford MK41 7UY

14 March 2013 4

Ravensden Village Hall, Church Hill, Ravensden, MK44 2RL

19 April 2013 12

Anjulita Court, Bramley Way, Bedford, MK41 7GD

24 April 2013 18

23. Following the public meeting at Anjulita Court a meeting was arranged for representatives from Brickhill Parish Council,

Woodlands Park residents and Ravensden Parish Council and this meeting was held on 29 April 2013. This discussed the information that was available to members of the public and the remaining stages of the review.

24. In addition to the above, Brickhill Parish Council circulated details of the review to a range of community organisations

that operate in that Parish. These included the local Community Safety Forum, Good Neighbours Scheme, Brickhill Community Association, the local schools and churches.

3 Analysis and draft recommendations

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25. Draft recommendations have been prepared on the community governance arrangements for the review area of Brickhill

and Ravensden Parishes. 26. As described earlier, the Borough Council must abide by the duties on it under Section 93 of the Local Government and

Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. This section of the 2007 Act requires that the Borough Council must have regard to the need to secure that community governance within the area under review –

(a) reflects the identities and interests of the community in that area, and

(b) is effective and convenient.

27. In considering the future electoral arrangements for a parish council (including a new parish council), Section 95 of the

2007 Act requires the Borough Council to examine whether parish wards should be created to facilitate separate representation on that parish council for electors living in different areas within the parish. In relation to the number of parish councillors to be elected (for an un-warded parish or for separate parish wards) the Borough Council must have regard to the following factors:

(a) the number of local government electors for the parish; (b) any change in that number which is likely to occur in the period of five years beginning with the day when the

review starts. 28. These recommendations cannot affect areas outside of the current Parishes of Brickhill and Ravensden. Nor can it make

changes to postcodes. Consequential changes to Borough Ward boundaries can be identified through this process and, if appropriate, representations submitted to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to consider.

Submissions Received 29. During the initial element of consultation as part of Stage 2 of this review, the Borough Council received a total of 410

representations. Of these, one was from Brickhill Parish Council, one was from Ravensden Parish Council and one was from Woodlands Park Residents’ Association.

30. During the extended element only of the consultation as part of Stage 2 of this review, the Borough Council received a

total of 590 representations. 153 of these came via a petition circulated by members of the Woodlands Park Residents’ Association.

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31. All representations received can be viewed at the Council’s offices upon request. A pseudonomised version of the submissions is available on the Council’s website at www.bedford.gov.uk/Brickhill_Ravensden.

32. There were no submissions received to amend the boundary of Brickhill Parish in relation to the small number of

properties in Lombardy Close, Rowallan Drive and Troon Close which are within the Parish whereas the majority of properties in those roads are unparished and in the Borough Ward of Putnoe. There were also no representations to amend the boundary of the Parish at the Ellis Road area; although the Parish Council did receive comments from several residents on this issue. Representations on these matters may still be submitted in Stage Four of this review.

Electorate Figures 33. As part of the review, the Community Engagement Team of the Borough Council submitted electorate forecasts for the

year 2018, projecting an increase in the electorate across the two Parishes of less than 1% over the five year period from 2013 to 2018. This indicates a particularly stable, if dynamic, community across the review area. This poses fewer risks for the review than an area where the electorate is changing dramatically in the medium term.

34. The electorate forecasts are set out below:

Parish Parish Ward Polling District Electorate 2013 Electorate 2018Brickhill North Parish Ward BB 2211 2211 East Parish Ward BA 2012 2012 BC 1591 1591

South & West Parish Ward BD 871 883

Ravensden No Parish Wards NP* 1049 1091 NQ 399 401 NR 195 195

* The Woodlands Park development is within Polling District NP

http://www.bedford.gov.uk/Brickhill_Ravensden

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Parish Areas 35. The review area encompasses the area of two Parishes which share a common boundary; Brickhill and Ravensden.

Brickhill is generally urban in nature when compared with Ravensden Parish which is generally rural in nature. Within the Ravensden Parish is the development of Woodlands Park. Vehicular access to Woodlands Park is along Ashmead Road which is accessed from Tyne Crescent within Brickhill Parish. There is no direct vehicular link between the Woodlands Park development and the remainder of the Ravensden Parish. The Woodlands Park development is more urban in nature than the remainder of Ravensden Parish. Electors were first registered at properties in the Woodlands Park development in 2007. As such, it is a relatively new development.

36. In contrast to the physical separation of the Woodlands Park development from the remainder of Ravensden Parish,

many homes in the Woodlands Park development are particularly close to homes in the Parish of Brickhill. Most notably Grenadier Close in Woodlands Park is adjacent to homes in Hodder Close, Churnet Close and the Wear in Brickhill Parish. In addition the closed end of Ashmead Road in Woodlands Park is particularly close to the closed end of Westrope Way in Brickhill Parish.

Parish Councils 37. Section 94 of the 2007 Act requires that where it is recommended that a new Parish is created or an existing Parish is

altered and the local government electorate in the new/altered Parish is 1,000 or more that there must also be a recommendation for a Parish Council for that Parish. If the parish has 150 or fewer local government electors, the review must recommend that the parish should not have a council.

38. As the draft recommendations involve the area of the Woodlands Park becoming part of Brickhill Parish (and cease to be

part of Ravensden Parish) there are electorate issues to consider. For Brickhill Parish the 2013 electorate was 6685; and with the electors in Woodlands Park the total would rise to 7734. This therefore requires a recommendation that the Parish shall have a Parish Council.

39. For Ravensden, the 2013 electorate of 1645 would mean that it too would require a recommendation that it should have

a Parish Council. However, as the recommendation is that the Parish be altered by excluding the area of the Woodlands Park development (Polling District NP), the total electorate would be 594. As such, there is no requirement on the Borough Council to recommend that the Parish have a Parish Council.

40. It is a draft recommendation that the proposed altered Parish of Ravensden should have a Parish Council to manage the

affairs of the Parish. The settlements of the Parish of Ravensden are quite separated one from the other and it is important that there is a facility to provide a forum for those settlements to be represented and with which to engage.

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While the numbers of the electors is significantly lower that than that requiring a Parish Council; there is not a reason to deprive the Parish of this established feature in its community governance that pre-dates the Woodlands Park development.

Parish Council Size and Electoral Fairness 41. Ravensden Parish has a Parish Council and this is currently comprised of seven Parish Councillors. The current number

of electors per Parish Councillor in the current Parish is 235 (based on 1645 electors in NP, NQ and NR Polling Districts). The average ratio of electors to Parish Councillors in the Borough of Bedford is 220 and therefore the position for Ravensden is close to the average. There are no Parish Wards in Ravensden Parish.

42. Brickhill Parish has a Parish Council and this is currently comprised of thirteen Parish Councillors. As there are Parish

Wards, the representation is four Parish Councillors for East and North Parish Wards and five Parish Councillors for South & West Parish Ward. The ratio of electors to Parish Councillors is currently 514 (based on 6685 electors in BA, BB, BC and BD Polling Districts). While this is a significantly higher ratio that the average for the Borough, it is not the highest ratio in the Borough. Kempston Town has a higher ratio with 1,348 electors to each Parish/Town Councillor.

43. Looking at the Parish Wards within Brickhill Parish and the representation of those separate Parish Wards, the electoral

ratios are:

Brickhill Parish Ward Polling Districts 2013 Electorate

Current Electoral Ration (Number of electors per Parish Councillor)

Variance from the average (i.e. 514) - + is a lower ratio than the average.

East BA 2012 503 +2.2% North BB 2211 553 -1.1% South & West BC and BD 2462 492 +4.3

. Electoral Arrangements 44. The last elections to the Brickhill and Ravensden Parish Council were in 2011. The next scheduled elections are in 2015. 45. With the intention to alter the existing Parishes of Brickhill and Ravensden at the same time, it is intended that the

elections to the two Parish Councils should continue to be scheduled for May 2015. This will mean that they are on the

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appropriate four yearly cycle of elections and no interim periods of appointment need to be considered for the newly elected Parish Councillors.

46. In the draft recommendations it is proposed that the Parish Council of the altered Parish of Ravensden should have

seven Parish Councillors. This would provide an electoral ratio for the altered Parish of 85 electors per Parish Councillor. This is based on the 2013 electorate of 594 for Polling Districts NQ and NR. This is significantly below the average ratio of 220 electors per Parish Councillor for the Borough as a whole. The minimum number of Parish Councillors that there can be on a Parish Council is five (section 16 of the Local Government Act 1972). However, a Parish Council may find it difficult to function effectively with less than seven Parish Councillors. It is not proposed to establish Parish Wards in the altered Parish of Ravensden.

47. It is proposed that the overall number of Parish Councillors for Brickhill Parish should increase from 13 to 15 Councillors

based on the recommended alteration to its area. It is proposed to retain the Parish Wards within the current Brickhill Parish Area. In view of the draft recommendation for the Woodlands Park area (Polling District NP) to be included in the Brickhill Parish, the altered Parish would require a Parish Ward for this area. It is proposed that this Parish Ward be represented by two Parish Councillors on an enlarged Brickhill Parish Council. The overall electoral ratio for the altered Brickhill Parish Council would be 516 electors per Parish Councillor based on a total of 7734 electors in 2013 and a total of 15 Parish Councillors. This is very close to the current electoral ratio for the existing Brickhill Parish Council. The specific electoral ratio for the proposed Woodlands Park Parish Ward would be 525 based on 1049 electors and represented by two Parish Councillors.

General Analysis Initial Stage 48. The consultation on the draft recommendations during the mutual element of Stage Two of this review process generated

410 responses. Of these 381 used a proforma response facility provided by the Council online and in the form of a postcard. There were 333 postcard responses and 48 online responses. The responses received that did not use the proforma facility provided were in the form of a petition signed by 20 electors from Brickhill Parish and correspondence from Brickhill Parish Council, Ravensden Parish Council, Woodland Park Residents Association and from seven individuals.

49. The proforma facility asked respondents to answer the question ”Having read the article about the Community Governance

Review… I/we would prefer to see the following implemented (please tick ).” Respondents were provided with the following four options.

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(1) No change to the existing arrangement for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes

(2) Ravensden Parish being amended to exclude the Woodlands Park development and

(a) Creation of a new Parish for Woodlands Park (b) The creation of a de-parished area for Woodlands Park (c) Brickhill Parish amended to include Woodlands Park

50. Respondents could also provide additional comments to amplify their response to the basic question being asked. The

responses received to the four options in the proforma where a single option was chosen have been summarised below:

Ravensden Parish being amended to exclude the Woodlands Park development and

No change to the existing arrangement for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes Creation of a new

Parish for Woodlands Park

The creation of a de-parished area for Woodlands Park

Brickhill Parish be amended to include Woodlands Park

Total of responses

Responses from Ravensden Parish (excluding Woodlands Park) (Polling Districts NQ and NR) 5 31 4 62 102 4.9% 30.4% 3.9% 60.8% 100%

Responses from Woodlands Park (Polling District NP) 10 65 4 63 142 7.0% 45.8% 2.8% 44.3% 100%

Responses from Brickhill Parish (Polling Districts BA-BD) 17 5 0 93 115 14.8% 4.3% - 80.9% 100%

Combined totals (whole of both Parishes – Polling Districts NP-NR and BA-BD) 32 101 8 218 359 8.9% 28.1% 2.2% 60.7% 100%

51. In addition to the above, as indicated, there was a petition signed by 20 individuals who live in Brickhill Parish. The

petition supported the option for Brickhill Parish to be amended to include Woodlands Park. Twelve responses were received from individuals expressing support for more than one of the above options. Seven other responses were received from individuals with a mixed set of views on the options referred to above.

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52. The view of Brickhill Parish Council is that Brickhill Parish be amended to include Woodlands Park. Ravensden Parish Council expressed the view that the Woodlands Park development should not actually form part of Ravensden Parish and should therefore be moved either into Brickhill [Parish] or be granted its own parish. The Woodlands Park Residents’ Association endorse the option of becoming an independent parish, the following text is from the Woodlands Park Residents Association providing explanation for their endorsement:

“Becoming an independent parish is the only way to ensure that Woodlands Park can manage its opportunities and challenges and grow a thriving and sustainable community. An independent parish provides the following advantages:

• Appropriate Representation: An independent parish council would have 5-7 parish councillors, which is approximately one representative per 150 electors. If Woodlands Park joined Brickhill Parish, we would have 2 votes on a council of 15, or roughly one representative per 525 electors.

• Financial Control: Ravensden Parish have committed to lay aside a portion of the parish precept for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 tax years to be transferred to the parish council representing Woodlands Park. As an independent council, Woodlands Park would have the ability to spend this money in the way it best saw fit. As Part of Brickhill Parish, spending that money would be subject to a vote of all 15 Brickhill Councillors. Going forward, it could be difficult to ensure that future WP taxes paid to the parish are allocated for Woodlands Park projects.

• Local Empowerment on local issues: We can all agree that this community has planning flaws and there are issues that need to be addressed including adoption, safety and provision and maintenance of community facilities. The best way to ensure that sufficient attention is placed on our local issues is to have an independent parish.”

In view of the inconclusive position at the end of the initial element of the Stage Two consultation, this stage reopened and extended with a view to enabling more submissions from within the review area. This period was specifically sought to address the views of those who had not responded to the review from among local government electors in Woodlands Park.

Extended Stage

53. The consultation on the options in respect of future arrangements during the extended Stage Two consultation of this review

process generated 590 responses. Of these 437 used a pro forma response facility provided by the Council online and in the form of a postcard. There were 397 postcard responses and 40 online responses. The responses received that did not use the pro forma facility were in the form of a petition signed by 153 electors from the Woodlands Park development.

54. The pro forma facility asked respondents to answer the question “Having read the article about the Community Governance

Review… I/we would prefer to see the following implemented (please tick )” Respondents were provided with the following three options:

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(1) Ravensden Parish being amended to exclude the Woodlands Park development and the creation of a new parish for Woodlands Park. (2) Ravensden Parish being amended to exclude the Woodlands Park development and Brickhill Parish being amended to include Woodlands Park. (3) Other (please use the comments space below to outline your other choice)

55. Respondents could also provide additional comments via letter or email to amplify their response to the basic question

being asked. The responses received to the three options in the pro forma, combined with the Woodlands Park Residents Association Petition (where a single option was chosen and the respondent had not responded multiple times) have been summarised below: Creation of a new Parish for Woodlands Park

Other (Clarification below)


Total

Responses from Woodlands Park (Polling District NP) 166 0 163 329

50.5% 0 49.5% 100% Responses from Brickhill Parish (Polling Districts BA-BD)

2 2 257 261 0.8% 0.8% 98.5% 100%

Combined totals (whole of both Parishes – Polling Districts NP and BA-BD) 168 2 420 590

28.5% 0.3% 71.1% 100% 56. The outcome of this stage of the consultation shows a much stronger level of support from respondents from the existing

Brickhill Parish for the parish to be amended to include Woodlands Park.

Combined Figures from the two elements of the Stage Two Consultation

57. The consultation on the draft recommendations during the initial and extended consultation combined generated 949 responses, 889 of these were from unique respondents. 796 responses were from a pro forma response facility provided by the Council online and in the form of a post card. There were 857 postcard responses and 92 online responses. The responses received that did not use the pro forma facility provided were in the form of a petition signed by 153 electors from

the Woodlands Park area during the extended consultation stage, this was generated by the Woodlands Park Residents Association.

58. The Pro Forma facilities asked the respondents the questions in sections 49 and 54 respectively.

59. The combined responses from both the initial and extended elements of the Stage Two consultation are summarised in the

table below. Please note that during the extended element of the Stage Two consultation there were no responses received from residents in the Ravensden Parish (excluding Woodlands Park).

Note that in the Extended phase of the Stage Two consultation two further respondents from Brickhill selected “Other” as their response.

60. The above table represents all responses (excluding where multiple responses in a single element of consultation)

including those where a respondent has expressed a preference in both the initial and extended consultation. Below is an analysis of the responses in respect of residents from Woodlands Park, The analysis has only been undertaken due to the narrow level of difference between the views expressed for a separate parish and those seeking to become part of Brickhill Parish.

61. There were a total of 43 respondents who did not appear on the Electoral Register within the Polling District that was stated

in their response. If these were excluded from the total from Woodlands Park there would be 208 in favour of the creation of a new Woodlands Park Parish and 206 in favour of Brickhill Parish being amended to include Woodlands Park.

62. Aa

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Ravensden Parish being amended to exclude the Woodlands Park development and:

No change to the existing arrangement for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes

Creation of a new Parish for Woodlands Park



Total Number of Responses





new Woodlands Park Parish and 201 in favour of Woodlands Park being included within Brickhill Parish. 63. If both of the conditions above were excluded from the total from Woodlands Park there would be 176 in favour of the

creation of a new Woodlands Park Parish and 182 in favour of Brickhill Parish being amended to include Woodlands Park. 64. Below is a table with both exclusions considered:

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Note, as referred

Ravensden Parish being amended to exclude the Woodlands Park development and: No change to the

existing arrangement for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes

Creation of a new Parish for Woodlands Park



Total Number of Responses





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to above, in the Extended Stage Two consultation two further respondents from Brickhill Parish selected “Other” as their response. Conclusions

65. The levels of support for a particular option reached the 5% level envisaged in the Terms of Reference for the Review Area

as a whole when both the initial and extended consultation are combined. As such, based on the most favoured option from respondents, the draft recommendations for “Brickhill Parish being amended to include Woodlands Park” have been set out at Appendix A.2 to this report.

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4 What happens next?

66. There will now be a consultation period of eight weeks, during which everyone is invited to comment on the draft recommendation for the future community governance arrangements contained in this report. Within this consultation, attention is drawn to the alternative option identified. We will take into account fully all submissions received by 6 January 2014. Any received after this date may not be taken into account.

67. We have not finalised our conclusions on the community governance arrangements for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes and

welcome comments from parties with an interest in the review relating to the proposed boundaries, number of parish councillors, parish names, and other electoral arrangements. We would welcome any thoughts on the alternative option or the submission of other proposals during Stage Four. We will consider all the evidence submitted to us during the consultation period before preparing our final recommendations.

68. Express your views by writing directly to:

Head of Registration and Records Bedford Borough Council Borough Hall Cauldwell Street Bedford MK42 9AP Submissions can also be made by using the online survey on our website, www.bedford.gov.uk or by emailing [email protected]

69. Please note that the consultation stages of a community governance review are public consultations. In the interests of

openness and transparency, we make available for public inspection full copies of all representations the Borough Council takes into account as part of a review. Accordingly, copies of all Stage Four representations will be placed on deposit locally at the offices of Bedford Borough Council and psuedonimised details will be available on our website at www.bedford.gov.uk

70. If you are a member of the public and not writing on behalf of a parish council or organisation we will remove any

personal identifiers, such as postal or email addresses, signatures or phone numbers from your submission before it is made public. We will remove signatures from all letters, no matter who they are from.

71. In the light of representations received, we will review our draft recommendations and consider whether they should be

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altered. As indicated earlier, it is therefore important that all interested parties let us have their views, whether or not they agree with the draft recommendations. We will then publish our final recommendations.

72. After the publication of our final recommendations, the final recommendations must be approved by a full meeting of the

Borough Council. If approved, an Order – the legal document which brings into force the final recommendations – will be drafted. If accepted, the new community governance arrangements will come into force on 1 April 2015.

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5 Mapping Draft recommendations for Brickhill and Ravensden Parishes 73. The map at Appendix A.3 represents the draft recommendations to alter the boundaries of Ravensden Parish by removing the

area of the Woodlands Park development (Polling District NP) from the Parish and the alteration of the Parish of Brickhill to include that area within its area.

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Appendix A.1 Code of practice on written consultation

The Cabinet Office’s Code of Practice on Written Consultation (November 2000) (http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/servicefirst/2000/consult/code/_consultation.pdf) requires all government departments and agencies to adhere to certain criteria on the conduct of public consultations. Public bodies, such as the Borough Council , are encouraged to follow the Code. The Code of Practice applies to consultation documents published after 1 January 2001, which should reproduce the criteria, give explanations of any departures, and confirm that the criteria have otherwise been followed. Compliance with the Cabinet Office’s Code of Practice on Written Consultation in respect of this community governance review Criteria Compliance/departure Timing of consultation should be built into the planning process for a policy (including legislation) or service from the start, so that it has the best prospect of improving the proposals concerned, and so that sufficient time is left for it at each stage.

Compliance

It should be clear who is being consulted, about what questions, in what timescale and for what purpose.

Compliance

A consultation document should be as simple and concise as possible. It should include a summary, in two pages at most, of the main questions it seeks views on. It should make it as easy as possible for readers to respond, make contact or complain.

Compliance

Documents should be made widely available, with the fullest use of electronic means (though not to the exclusion of others), and effectively drawn to the attention of all interested groups and individuals

Compliance

Sufficient time should be allowed for considered responses from all groups with an interest. Twelve weeks should be the standard minimum period for a consultation.

Compliance

Responses should be carefully and open-mindedly analysed, and the results made widely available, with an account of the views expressed, and reasons for decisions finally taken.

Compliance

Departments should monitor and evaluate consultations, designating a consultation co-ordinator who will ensure the lessons are disseminated

Compliance

http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/servicefirst/2000/consult/code/_consultation.pdf

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Appendix A.2 COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW FOR THE CURRENT PARISHES OF BRICKHILL AND RAVENSDEN (INCLUDING WOODLANDS PARK) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BEDFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL

Recommendation

Brickhill Ravensden

Constitute/Alter a Parish (s87(1) (New) and s88(2) (Existing))

The area of the existing Parish should be altered to include the area in which the development known as the Woodlands Park is situated (Polling District NP within the current Ravensden Parish).

The area of the existing Parish should be altered to exclude the area in which the development known as the Woodlands Park is situated (Polling District NP).

Boundaries of Parishes (s87(2) (New) and s88(2) (Existing)

The boundary of the existing Parish remains unaltered except for that element of the boundary with the current Ravensden Parish (Polling District NP). At this section, the boundary is amended to encompass the Polling District NP and its boundary with Polling District NQ as the new boundary for the Parish.

The boundary of the existing Parish remains unaltered except for that element of the boundary with the current Brickhill Parish (Polling District NP). At this section, the boundary is amended to exclude the Polling District NP. The Parish boundary at this section would then follow the line of the boundary between Polling Districts NP and NQ.

Parish Council (s87(6) (New) and s88(4) (Existing) – and generally s94)

The Parish shall continue to have a council. This is a required recommendation where the parish has 1,000 or more local government electors. The electorate figures for such a redefined parish in 2013 were 7734.

The new Parish shall have a council. This is an optional recommendation where the parish has 150-1,000 or more local government electors. The electorate figures for such a redefined parish in 2013 were 594.

Name and style of Parish (s87(5)&(7) (New) and s88(3)&(5) (Existing))

Brickhill Parish

Ravensden Parish

Parish Warding

That Parish Wards be implemented. The existing Parish Wards of North (Polling District BA), East (Polling District BB) and South & West (Polling Districts BC and BD) be retained and the Polling District NP be constituted as the “Woodlands”

Not to establish Parish Wards. This recommendation is made on the basis that a single election of councillors is practicable and convenient and it is not desirable that any area of the proposed redefined parish should be

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(s95(2) and (6)) Parish Ward. This recommendation is made on the basis that the identified areas of the proposed altered parish should be separately represented on the council.

separately represented on the council at this stage.

Electoral Arrangements - Council Size (s89(2) (New) and s90(2) (Existing -continuing))

The number of councillors to be elected for the council for the Parish should be 15. This takes account of the number of local government electors for the parish and the change in that number likely to occur to 2018. This number is also within the range suggested by the former Aston Business School and based on similar size parishes locally. The separate Parish Wards will be represented by the following numbers of Parish Councillors: East – Four Parish Councillors North – Four Parish Councillors South & West – Five Parish Councillors Woodlands – Two Parish Councillors

The number of councillors to be elected for the council for the Parish should be seven. This takes account of the number of local government electors for the parish and the change in that number likely to occur to 2018. This number is also within the range suggested by the former Aston Business School and based on similar size parishes locally.

Implementation (including electoral arrangements) (s89(2) (New) and s90(2) (Existing -continuing))

The changes referred to should be implemented on 1 April 2015 with elections to the council in May 2015 followed by an election every 4th year thereafter

The new parish should be established on 1 April 2015 with elections to the council in May 2015 followed by an election every 4th year thereafter

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Appendix A.5

Additional legislation considered Equal Opportunities In the conduct of this review, the Council has been mindful of its duties under the Equality Act 2010 which places a duty on the Authority to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations in regard to age, disability, reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. While there is no adverse impact on the Council’s duty identified by officers, Members must also assess for themselves this matter as part of the consideration of the final recommendation.