Agenda item

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic services on a request for a community governance review from Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council – attached.

The committee considered a request from Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council to review the boundaries between Abingdon-on-Thames, Radley, Sunningwell, Sutton Courtenay and St. Helen Without parishes.

Councillor Sandy Lovatt and Councillor Helen Pighills both stated that as members of Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council they would not vote on this matter.

Councillor Michael Page, of St. Helen Without Parish Council, objected to the proposal on the grounds that an early boundary review is not necessary and should be conducted on the same time schedule as other planned community governance reviews, scheduled to occur after May 2019.

Councillor Sandy Lovatt, of Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council, spoke in support of the request: 

·         Part 1 of the Vale of White Horse Local Plan outlines major development plans for the district.

·         Deferring a boundary review until after May 2019 means that any changes that arise from this will not come into effect electorally until May 2023. By this time, nearly all new houses scheduled to be built across the areas in question will have been built. If the town council’s proposed boundary changes were delayed until this stage, the sudden changes in parish council tax rates could cause confusion and discontent.

·         Many of the areas outlined in the proposal use Abingdon’s amenities regularly.

·         Given the financial and community implications of the proposed changes, a review should be undertaken now rather than beyond 2019, to allow residents time to adapt.

The officer confirmed that if the committee agreed to go forward with a review, they could amend parish boundaries accordingly. It was noted that the map being used as the basis for the discussion was produced by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council, and that any review would be carried out using district council maps.

The committee agreed that:

·         Under existing council guidelines, the boundary between areas A and B (see town council map attached to the report) would be subject to a boundary review because of scheduled developments that straddle parish boundaries.

·         Since most of the basis for Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council’s request is based upon changes to this boundary only, considering further reviews of areas C and D (see map) complicates the matter at this stage.

On this basis, the committee proposed that a review of the boundary between areas A and B (see map) should commence immediately, while areas C and D should be deferred for consideration after May 2019.

The committee noted Councillor Ed Blagrove’s view that any decisions on this matter should be based on officially commissioned district council information, and subsequently he proposed that the committee reject Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council’s request and submit a specific proposal based on the discussion.

The officer confirmed that if this was agreed to, terms of reference and subsequent maps would be produced and brought to a future meeting.

The committee agreed to undertake a community governance review of areas A and B as shown on the map attached to the report.  They also agreed to defer any boundary reviews of areas C and D until after May 2019.

RESOLVED:

1.    To undertake a community governance review of the parish boundary between Abingdon-on-Thames, Radley, St Helen Without and Sunningwell parishes as shown on the map attached to the report.

2.    To authorise the head of legal and democratic services to draft and publish the terms of reference for the review.

3.    To defer any boundary reviews of areas C and D until after May 2019.