Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair will announce any late items for urgent consideration under the Late Items agenda item.

Any apologies for absence that have been received will be noted at this point.

Apologies were received from Cllr T Johnson.

The minutes relate to the meeting of the Boundary Review Panel on Friday 22 March 2024.

Minutes from the Panel held on Friday 22 March 2024 were approved as a correct record.

Members are to make any declarations of disclosable pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interests which they might have in respect of matters on the agenda for this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Recommendation:

That the report on the review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations for the Chichester District, as set out in Appendix 1, be agreed.

Mrs Ward introduced the report. She explained that this follows the initial report and consultation from March 2024 and will go to Council. She commented that polling station locations are not set in stone and can change if for example they are unavailable or have building work going on.

Cllr Briscoe questioned why there are no polling stations in Walderton, as a couple of electors had raised concerns over the distance that they had to drive to get to their nearest station. He asked officers if something more central in this area could be considered and asked for clarification as to whether it was possible to hold polling stations in a pub.

Mrs Ward explained that the original polling station was no longer available and it was felt that moving electors to another station that was just outside of the area would be the best solution. Issues such as the lack of phone signal and the cost to hire and staff the polling station for such a small electorate also needed to be considered. The lack of polling station in this area did not flag as a problem in the consultation. She explained that it is possible to use a pub as a polling station, however this can be expensive and that electors can have a  postal vote if they are unable to get to a polling station . She advised that she would look into the option of the pub and would let Cllr Briscoe know the outcome.

Cllr Johnson praised the northern polling station location in Bosham.

RESOLVED:

That the report on the review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations for the Chichester District, as set out in Appendix 1, be agreed.

The Boundary Review Panel will consider any late urgent items announced by the Chair under Agenda Item 1.

There were no Late Items.