Agenda and minutes

Councillor Eggleston substituted for Councillor Dempsey, Councillor Hicks substituted for Councillor Sparasci, Councillor Coote substituted for Councillor Llewellyn-Burke and Councillor Whittaker substituted for Councillor Boutrup.

Apologies were received from Councillors Dempsey, Sparasci, Llewellyn-Burke and Councillor Boutrup. Apologies were also received from the Cabinet Member for Community, Cllr. Webster.

Councillor Eggleston declared a personal interest in Item 7: Community Governance Review - Draft Recommendations for Burgess Hill Town Council and Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council as he is the Leader of Burgess Hill Town Council.

Councillor Gibson declared a personal interest in Item 6: Community Governance Review - Draft Recommendations for East Grinstead Town Council as he is a County Councillor for a division that covers a part of East Grinstead.

Councillor Cartwright declared a personal interest in Item 7: Community Governance Review - Draft Recommendations for Burgess Hill Town Council and Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council as he is the Member of Burgess Hill Town Council.

Councillor Chapman declared a personal interest in Item 7: Community Governance Review - Draft Recommendations for Burgess Hill Town Council and Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council as he is the Member of Burgess Hill Town Council.

Councillor Sweatman declared a personal interest in Item 6: Community Governance Review - Draft Recommendations for East Grinstead Town Council as he is a Member of East Grinstead Town Council.

Councillor Hicks declared a personal interest in Item 7: Community Governance Review - Draft Recommendations for Burgess Hill Town Council and Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council as he is the Member of Burgess Hill Town Council.

The Chairman noted a typographical error in the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 25 May 2022. She referenced the mention of the A27 on P.8 of the papers and stated that it should be A23 instead.

With that correction, the minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2022 were agreed as a correct record and electronically signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman had no urgent business.

Terry Stanley, Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services, introduced the report. Following evaluation of the first of two public consultations, he presented to the committee the findings of the first consultation. He highlighted that the public and stakeholder response was  supportive of the Town Council’s proposal, that the respondent Mrs Etheridge who is presented as an elected Councillor is in fact not an elected representative but is an elector. He added that we are unable to propose joining the Ashplats North parish ward with the Ashplats South parish ward as they are divided by a County Council divisional boundary.

A Member sought clarification that the Sackville Ward was being incorporated into Baldwins Ward.

The Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services confirmed that is the proposal.

The Member then enquired whether dotted line crossing the Herontye Ward is the smaller Ashplats Ward joining into Herontye.

The Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services confirmed that the dotted line is the boundary of the new Ashplats South parish ward which is proposed to be joined with East Grinstead Herontye parish ward given that there is a County Divisional boundary to the north.

The Member considered the name of that parish ward and suggested it be called Herontye and Ashplats South to better reflect the identity of the Ward.

The Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services noted the Member’s advice about the name of the ward and it was confirmed that this could reflected in the committee’s recommendations.

A Member observed the response rate and 0.3% and compared it to other response rates from Community Governance Reviews elsewhere in the country. He also suggested that more than one Councillor covers East Grinstead South due to the activity that occurs in the Ward.

The Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services noted the observation about the response rate and confirmed that notification of the CGR (Community Governance Review) was sent to every registered elector in East Grinstead and that the Review was publicised. He also noted the issue of cover if one Member is unwell and advised that submissions on this could be made during the second public consultation.

The Chairman noted that no other Members wished to speak so took Members to vote on the recommendations which were approved unanimously.

RESOLVED   

The Scrutiny Committee for Community, Customer Services and Service Delivery:

(i)           Noted the findings of the first public consultation.

(ii)          Provided advice upon, and further to that advice, agreed the principal electoral authority’s draft recommendations for East Grinstead Town Council upon which a second public consultation would be conducted, which specifically includes advice that the name of the parish ward referred to should be East Grinstead Herontye and Ashplats South.

(iii)         Noted that following the second public consultation, further findings and the final recommendations of the principal electoral authority will be presented to this committee on 14 September 2022.

(iv)        Noted the final decision will be taken by Council in the light of the consultation responses received through the Community Governance Review.

Terry Stanley, Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services, introduced the report. Following evaluation of the first of two public consultations, he presented to the committee the findings of the first consultation. He highlighted that the public and stakeholder response was  supportive of the proposals within the public CGR petition which was for the Town Council to align as closely as possible the District Wards so that some of the smaller wards created recently by the LGBCE (Local Government Boundary Commission for England) could be reviewed, that the Northern Arc wards be incorporated into the BHTC (Burgess Hill Town Council) administrative area, and that a new Council size be determined.

A Member highlighted the difference between the Community Governance Review of East Grinstead Town Council to Burgess Hill Town Council and Ansty & Staplefield Parish Council. He stated that it was important that the new Northern Arc developments are incorporated into the BHTC administrative area as this is where they had always been envisaged to be. He added that over 94% of respondents, and the Burgess Hill Town Council supported the recommendations.

A Member believed that the case to move the Northern Arc to Burgess Hill is overwhelming. He expressed support for the public and Town Council aspirations and highlighted that 94% of respondents supported the recommendations.

A Member thought that putting together the Northern Arc and Cuckfield, Bolnore and Ansty was irrational and felt it was logical that it should be part of Burgess Hill.

The Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services drew attention to the map which showed that Northern Arc West and Northern Arc East being put into Burgess Hill Dunstall and Burgess Hill Leylands, respectively.

A Member felt that the letter may have been slightly confusing for residents and asked if the wording could be made more understandable.

The Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services acknowledged that community governance matters are by their statutory nature technical, but he confirmed that he would take away the Member’s feedback and would endeavour to make future such notifications more understandable.

The Chairman recognised that most respondents supported the recommendations. She also noted that it was still a very low response rate of only approximately 1.2% of the electorate compared to the number of  signatories on the petition.

A Member affirmed the need to establish the right councillor to elector ratio and highlighted the difference in ratio between East Grinstead and Burgess Hill. He suggested that the status quo should be maintained and then increased to 22 for the Northern Arc.

Tom Clark, Head of Regulatory Services, explained that the number of councillors needed is really a matter for the local town council and noted that East Grinstead thought they had too many at the moment.

The Business Unit Leader for Democratic Services outlined the proposal to base the number of councillors on the electorate forecast for 2027 which brings the total councillors to 19. He added that Council Size (the number of town councillors) is expected to be the subject of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Tom Clark, Head of Regulatory Services, introduced the report which set out the schedule of business for the coming year. He noted that a Council report seeks to review the responsibilities of the scrutiny committees therefore some business may be brought forward to a different committee.

The Chairman noted that no Member wished to speak so moved to the vote to note the report which was agree unanimously.

RESOLVED

The Scrutiny Committee for Community, Customer Services and Service Delivery noted the Committee’s Work Programme for 2022/23./AI7>

None.