The Council is requested to approve recommendations from the Boundary Review Panel who held a meeting on 1 March 2022.
Report to follow.
Minutes:
Cllr Oakley proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Cllr Purnell.
Cllr Oakley then introduced the report as Chair of the Boundary Review Panel.
Cllr Purnell agreed with the need for a member of the council to attend upcoming hearings as stated in recommendation 4.
Cllr Donna Johnson spoke in favour of the recommendations in particular maintaining the Manhood Peninsula in one parliamentary constituency.
Cllr Hobbs requested clarification of the alternatives.
Mr Mildred explained that the alternative kept the peninsula together but split the Easebourne ward along Lodsworth to another constituency.
Cllr Brown spoke in favour of the recommendations.
Cllr Sutton asked members to consider all wards within the district.
Cllr Sharp supported Cllr Donna Johnson’s comments relating to the Manhood Peninsula.
Cllr Purnell explained that there is no direct road connection between Selsey and Bognor.
Cllr Plowman asked whether the local MP has provided comment. Mr Mildred confirmed that there was no submission from Gillian Keegan in the last round.
In summing up Cllr Oakley on behalf of the Boundary Review Panel wished to thank Mr Mildred for the work he put into supporting the Panel.
Cllr Hamilton proposed Cllr Donna Johnson to represent the council as per recommendation 4. This was seconded by Cllr Plowman. In a vote this nomination was carried.
In a vote the following resolutions were carried:
1. The Council notes that the Boundary Review Panel have considered the next round of the consultation on the proposed changes to the Parliamentary boundaries and after reviewing the responses published on the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) website it recommends that Council agree the following additional response is submitted to the BCE for this round of consultation.
2. Chichester District Council have reviewed the responses to the first round of the consultation published on the BCE website and strongly maintains the points raised in its original submission. In particular we would like to re-iterate importance of not splitting the Manhood Peninsula as per the proposed boundaries to avoid the damage that this would do to the local communities and their existing connections and sense of place. The whole of the peninsula shares many consistent issues and works together as a cohesive area and community, the whole of the peninsula also has strong links to Chichester as its major settlement. To split the peninsula would negatively impact its communities, local economy, local common environmental issues and adversely affect the representation of its common issues in Parliament. An example of this is would be the splitting of Primary and Secondary school catchments. The travel links within the proposed Bognor Regis ward would mean Public Document Pack that the areas within that ward on the Manhood Peninsula would need to travel to Chichester to access the rest of the Constituency, again highlighting the lack of the proposed boundary being a coherent area. We note the strength of feeling in the responses from local people and Parish Councils that reflect this whilst other responses from more centralised organisations show an absence in understanding of the local issues.
3. Our alternative worked up proposal in our last response protects the completeness of the Manhood Peninsula and its community whilst maintaining the areas of the Chichester District with the closest relations to the City of Chichester and the A27 Chichester by-pass within the Chichester constituency. The ongoing debate on the future of the A27 and a potential Chichester by-pass is an example of a current issue that affects the whole of the Manhood Peninsula in its common areas of housing development, local transport links and community cohesion. It also removes the orphan Ward in your original proposal. As a result it ensures that the objectives of your review are met within the Chichester District. We acknowledge that our proposal may cause some knock on effects in constituencies to the east of Chichester but feel that the BCE should work to resolve these issues whilst maintaining the Manhood Peninsula within a single constituency.
4. The Council having considered the Boundary Review Panel recommendation that a representative of the Panel makes representation at one of the upcoming hearings associated with this round of the consultation have appointed Cllr Donna Johnson as above.