Agenda item

Consider report by Chief Executive seeking approval for a proposed response to the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland’s proposals for wards in the Scottish Borders Council area.  (Copy attached of (a) Note of Members Sounding Board and (b) report.)

With reference to paragraph to paragraph 16 of the Minute of 2 April 2015, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Chief Executive seeking approval for a proposed response to the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland’s proposals for wards in the Scottish Borders Council area.  Copies had also been circulated of the Note of the Meeting of the Members’ Sounding Board which had been held on 23 April 2015.  The report explained that the current proposals by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland for the Scottish Borders Council area presented an electoral arrangement for 32 Councillors representing 8 x 3-member wards and 2 x 4-member wards, reducing the number of wards in the area by 1 and reducing Councillor numbers by 2.  Appendix 1 to the report detailed the electorates and associated variation from parity of the proposed Wards, and gave details of the Commission’s new Ward proposals, in particular Jedburgh, Denholm & Hermitage and Hawick.  The proposals removed the existing Hawick & Denholm and Hawick & Hermitage Wards, placing Newcastleton and Denholm (and surrounding areas) into a new Jedburgh, Denholm & Hermitage Ward.  A minor change was also proposed moving around 80 electors from Charlesfield from the Jedburgh Ward into the Selkirkshire Ward, with the detail of this change in boundary given in Appendix 2 to the report.  The Commission had made it clear that parity of electors to Councillors was the main determinant for Councillor numbers and ward design.  This had been used to develop a response for the Council, proposing a different configuration of Wards, retaining Newcastleton in a Hawick Ward.  Details of this were given in Appendix 3 to the report.  Consideration had been given to including Denholm in the Hawick Ward but this was not being recommended as it would take the total electorate for that Ward 20% above parity.  Two minor amendments to address some inconsistencies in the current ward boundaries which had not been covered by the Boundary Commission proposals at New Horndean Farm and Stichill Home Farm and Stables were also proposed.  Members discussed the proposals in detail including the issue of electoral parity; geographic and historic connections between settlements, with reference to Hawick, Denholm, Newcastleton and Hornshole; and the following Motions were put forward and voted on:-

         VOTES

         Councillor Parker, seconded by Councillor Mitchell, moved approval of the recommendations as contained in the report subject to the inclusion of the amendment relating to Stichill Home Farm and Stichill Stables.

         Councillor Smith, seconded by Councillor Paterson, moved as an amendment that recommendation 2.1(c) and the part of (d) relating to Hawick, be replaced with “Scottish Borders Council request the Boundary Commission to review their proposals for the current Wards 10 and 11, as the present proposals ran counter to the Commission’s own guidelines on the breaking of local ties and on easily identifiable boundaries, and consequently could not be supported by the Community or its representatives.”

          Councillor McAteer, seconded by Councillor Marshall, moved as a further amendment that recommendations 2.1(c)&(d) be replaced with “To propose to the Commission that the area to the north, south, east and west of Hawick, representing part of the existing Hawick and Denholm ward and including specific areas of Hawick formerly within the Hawick and Hermitage ward be included in a new ward 10 (Hawick & District Ward) with 4 councillors. The new ward electorate would be in the region of 12,672 at September 2013 level) which would be 13% above parity, but this would reduce in the forecast electorate in 2019 to be in the region of 12,361 which was a variation of 10% above parity. This would include Hawick retaining the historically significant site of Hornshole and address the regulatory provision of schedule 6 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 Sections 12 to 28 and 210, 233 and 235 by providing (a) defined and fixed boundaries that were easily identifiable and (b) strong connections to local historical and cultural ties that would otherwise be broken by fixing any other boundary. This proposal would result in the parity levels being closer to the criteria set by the Boundary Commission and consequently more likely to be acceptable. The resulting Newcastleton and Hermitage area would as the Boundary Commission proposed and be included in a new Jedburgh and Hermitage ward retaining the change in boundary between Kelso & District and Jedburgh also proposed by the Commission and would be served by 3 councillors.”

          Firstly a vote was taken between the two amendments by a show of hands as follows:-

          Amendment by Councillor Smith           -           3 votes

          Amendment by Councillor McAteer      -           5 votes.

          Following the success of Councillor McAteer’s Amendment, a vote by a show of hands was taken between this amendment and the Motion by Councillor Parker as follows:-

          Motion                -           26 votes

          Amendment       -           4 votes

          The Motion was accordingly carried.

         DECISION

         DECIDED:-

(a)     to support the Commission’s proposal to move Charlesfield (approximately 80 electorate) from the Jedburgh & District Ward into the Selkirkshire Ward, with no change proposed for the houses lying within the settlement boundary of St Boswells;

(b)     not to support the new Jedburgh, Denholm & Hermitage or the Hawick Wards as detailed in the Commission’s proposals;

(c)     to propose to the Commission that the area to the south of Hawick, including Newcastleton, should be included in a new Ward 10 (Hawick & District Ward) with 4 Councillors.  The new Ward electorate would be 12,426 (at September 2013 level) which would be 11% above parity, but this would reduce in the forecast electorate in 2019 to 12,122 which was a variation of 8% above parity. This would then reflect the same variation from parity (-8%) of the existing and proposed Tweeddale West Ward.  The new Ward would cover an area of 621 km², the same area as the current Mid Berwickshire Ward.  Wilton Park and Galalaw Business Park, in Hawick, currently had postcodes which placed them outwith the new Hawick Ward and it was recommended that these be included within the new Hawick Ward as they lay within the settlement boundary, albeit containing no houses;

(d)     to propose to the Commission that the area to the north and east of Hawick, including Denholm, be included in a proposed new Ward 9 (Jedburgh & Denholm Ward) which would also retain the change in boundary between Kelso & District and Jedburgh as proposed by the Commission, and would be served by 3 Councillors.  The new Ward electorate would be 8,533 based on 2013 figures (2% above parity) with a minor increase forecast for 2019.  The new Jedburgh & Denholm Ward would cover an area of 576 km², as opposed to the Commission’s proposal for a Jedburgh Ward covering 868 km²;

(e)     to support further amendments:

                   (i)    to move all of the property at New Horndean Farm into the Mid Berwickshire Ward – currently the Farm was split between Mid and East Berwickshire Wards; and

                   (ii)   to move the properties at Stichill Home Farm and Stichill Stables from the Mid Berwickshire Ward to the Kelso & District Ward.

(f)      to also submit as part of its response to the Commission the following supporting information:

                   (i)    in terms of linkages within the new Wards, Newcastleton was a geographically remote village, located just over 21 miles south of Hawick, with a driving time of approximately 56 minutes.  There was a direct public transport link between Newcastleton and Hawick.  There were existing links between Newcastleton and Hawick in terms of school catchment area, social work services, and health services.  Newcastleton was located almost 27 miles from Jedburgh, with a driving time of approximately 1 hour and 8 minutes and no direct public transport link (public transport link is via Hawick).  There were no specific links either socially, currently or historically with Jedburgh;

                   (ii)   Denholm was located just under 5 miles from Hawick and just under 6 miles from Jedburgh, almost equidistant, and there was a direct public transport link to both Hawick and Jedburgh.  Denholm lay in the school catchment area for Hawick High School although some parents chose to send their children to Jedburgh Grammar School.  While some members of the Denholm community would have a more natural affinity with Hawick, there were existing links with Jedburgh.  This change in boundaries should have no impact on the social and cultural relationships which currently exist between Denholm, Hawick and Jedburgh; and

                   (iii)  with regard to Community Council areas, Scottish Borders currently had 69 Community Councils, a number of which were split across existing Wards e.g. Hawick Community Council and Hobkirk Community Council areas were split between the current Hawick & Denholm and Hawick & Hermitage Wards.  The proposed new Kelso & District and Jedburgh & Denholm Ward boundary would see Heiton & Roxburgh Community Council split between the 2 Wards, with the majority of the Community Council area in the Kelso & District Ward.  Crailing, Eckford & Nisbet Community Council area would also be split between these Wards.   Denholm and Southdean Community Council areas would be wholly included in the new Jedburgh & Denholm Ward.