The District of Wear Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 1999

Statutory Instruments

1999 No. 2584

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND

The District of Wear Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 1999

Made

7th September 1999

Coming into force in accordance with article 1(2)

Whereas the Local Government Commission for England, acting pursuant to section 15(4) of the Local Government Act 1992(1), has submitted to the Secretary of State a report dated October 1998 on its review of the district of Wear Valley together with its recommendations:

And whereas the Secretary of State has decided to give effect to those recommendations:

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 17(2) and 26 of the Local Government Act 1992, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the District of Wear Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 1999.

(2) This Order shall come into force–

(a) for the purpose of proceedings preliminary or relating to elections to be held on 1st May 2003, on 10th October 2002;

(b) for all other purposes, on 1st May 2003.

(3) In this Order–

“district” means the district of Wear Valley;

“existing”, in relation to a ward, means the ward as it exists on the date this Order is made; and

any reference to the map is a reference to the map prepared by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions marked “Map of the District of Wear Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 1999”, and deposited in accordance with regulation 27 of the Local Government Changes for England Regulations 1994(3).

Wards of Wear Valley

2.—(1) The existing wards of the district(4) shall be abolished.

(2) The district shall be divided into nineteen wards which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 1.

(3) The wards shall comprise the areas described in column (2) of that Schedule by reference to parishes and parish wards, or parish wards or, where no area is so described, the area designated on the map by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by red lines; and the number of councillors to be elected for each ward shall be the number specified in respect of the ward in column (3) of that Schedule.

(4) Where a boundary is shown on the map as running along a road, railway line, footway, waterway or similar geographical feature, it shall be treated as running along the centre line of the feature.

Wards of the parish of Wolsingham

3.  The parish of Wolsingham shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 2; each parish ward shall comprise the area of the district ward specified in respect of the parish ward in column (2) of that Schedule, and the number of councillors to be elected for each parish ward shall be the number specified in respect of the parish ward in column (3) of that Schedule.

Revocation

4.  The District of Wear Valley (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979 is hereby revoked.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Beverley Hughes

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

7th September 1999

Article 2

SCHEDULE 1 NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Ward	Area of Ward	Number of Councillors
Bishop Auckland Town		2
Cockton Hill		3
Coundon		3
Crook North		1
Crook South		3
Dene Valley		2
Escomb		2
Henknowle		2
Howden		1
Hunwick		1
St John’s Chapel	The parish wards of Ireshopeburn, Lanehead, St John’s Chapel, Wearhead and Westgate of the parish of Stanhope	1
Stanhope	The parishes of Edmondbyers and Hunstanworth and the parish wards of Eastgate, Frosterley, Rookhope, Stanhope Rural and Stanhope Urban of the parish of Stanhope	2
Tow Law and Stanley		3
West Auckland		3
Wheatbottom and Helmington Row		2
Willington Central		3
Willington West End		1
Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear		2
Woodhouse Close		3

Article 3

SCHEDULE 2 WARDS OF THE PARISH OF WOLSINGHAM: NAMES, AREAS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Ward	Area of Ward	Number of Councillors
Thornley	So much of the district ward of Tow Law and Stanley as comprises the parish of Wolsingham	1
Wolsingham	So much of the district ward of Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear as comprises the parish of Wolsingham	10

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order gives effect to recommendations by the Local Government Commission for England for electoral changes in the District of Wear Valley. The changes have effect in relation to local government elections to be held on and after 1st May 2003.

Article 2 abolishes all of the existing wards of the district and provides for the creation of 19 new wards. That article and Schedule 1 also make provision for the names and areas of, and numbers of councillors for, the new wards.

Article 3 makes electoral changes in the parish of Wolsingham.

Article 4 revokes the District of Wear Valley (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979.

The areas of the new district wards are demarcated on the map described in article 1(3). Prints of the map may be inspected at all reasonable times at the offices of Wear Valley District Council and at the offices of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 2nd Floor, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.

(1)

1992 c. 19.

(2)

Section 17 is amended by section 39(4) and (5) of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994 (c. 29).

(3)

S.I. 1994/867, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Order.

(4)

See the District of Wear Valley (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1265).