The District of North Dorset (Electoral Changes) Order 2002

Statutory Instruments

2002 No. 2239

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND

The District of North Dorset (Electoral Changes) Order 2002

Made

28th August 2002

Coming into force in accordance with article 1(2)

Whereas the Boundary Committee for England(1), acting pursuant to section 15(4) of the Local Government Act 1992(2), has submitted to the Electoral Commission(3) a report dated April 2002 on its review of the district of North Dorset together with its recommendations:

And whereas the Electoral Commission have decided to give effect to those recommendations:

And whereas a period of not less than six weeks has expired since the receipt of those recommendations:

Now, therefore, the Electoral Commission, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 17(4) and 26(5) of the Local Government Act 1992, and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Order:

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the District of North Dorset (Electoral Changes) Order 2002.

(2) This Order shall come into force—

(a) for the purpose of proceedings preliminary or relating to any election to be held on 1st May 2003, on 15th October 2002;

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

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“district” means the district of North Dorset;

“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 marked “Map referred to in the District of North Dorset (Electoral Changes) Order 2002”, of which prints are available for inspection at—

(a) the principal office of the Electoral Commission; and

(b) the offices of North Dorset District Council.

Wards of the district of North Dorset

3.—(1) The existing wards of the district(6) shall be abolished.

(2) The district shall be divided into twenty-eight 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 or, where an area is not 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, watercourse or similar geographical feature, it shall be treated as running along the centre line of the feature.

Wards of the parish of Blandford Forum

4.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Blandford Forum shall be abolished.

(2) The parish shall be divided into five parish wards which shall bear the names Blandford Damory Down, Blandford Hilltop, Blandford Langton St Leonards, Blandford Old Town and Blandford Station; each parish ward shall comprise the area of the district ward bearing the same name.

(3) The number of councillors to be elected for the Blandford Damory Down, Blandford Hilltop, Blandford Langton St Leonards and Blandford Station parish wards shall be three and for the Blandford Old Town parish ward shall be four.

Wards of the parish of Gillingham

5.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Gillingham shall be abolished.

(2) The parish shall be divided into six 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.

Wards of the parish of Shaftesbury

6.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Shaftesbury shall be abolished.

(2) The parish shall be divided into four parish wards that shall bear the names Shaftesbury Central, Shaftesbury Christy's, Shaftesbury Grosvenor and Shaftesbury Underhill; each parish ward shall comprise the area of the district ward bearing the same name, and the number of councillors to be elected for each parish ward shall be three.

Maps

7.  North Dorset District Council shall make a print of the map marked “Map referred to in the District of North Dorset (Electoral Changes) Order 2002” available for inspection at its offices by any member of the public at any reasonable time.

Electoral registers

8.  The Electoral Registration Officer(7) for the district shall make such rearrangement of, or adaptation of, the register of local government electors as may be necessary for the purposes of, and in consequence of, this Order.

Revocation

9.  The District of North Dorset (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1980(8) is revoked, save for article 4.

Signed by the members of the Electoral Commission

Pamela Gordon

Commissioner

22nd August 2002

Glyn Mathias

Commissioner

21st August 2002

Neil McIntosh

Commissioner

28th August 2002

Karamjit Singh

Commissioner

28th August 2002

Sam Younger

Commissioner

28th August 2002

Graham Zellick

Commissioner

28th August 2002

article 3

SCHEDULE 1 NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Ward	Area of Ward	Number of Councillors
Abbey	The parishes of Anderson, Hilton, Milborne St Andrew, Milton Abbas, Winterborne Kingston, Winterborne Whitechurch and Winterborne Zelston	2
Blackmore	The parishes of Lydlinch, Stalbridge and Stourton Caundle	2
Blandford Damory Down		1
Blandford Hilltop		1
Blandford Langton St Leonards		1
Blandford Old Town		1
Blandford Station		1
Bourton and District		1
Bulbarrow	The parishes of Ibberton, Okeford Fitzpaine, Turnworth, Winterborne Clenston, Winterborne Houghton and Winterborne Stickland	1
Cranborne Chase	The parishes of Ashmore, Chettle, Farnham, Pimperne, Tarrant Gunville and Tarrant Hinton	1
Gillingham Town		1
Hill Forts	The parishes of Child Okeford, Durweston, Hanford, Iwerne Courtney or Shroton, Iwerne Minster, Iwerne Stepleton, Shillingstone and Stourpaine	2
Lodbourne		1
Lydden Vale	The parishes of Fifehead Neville, Glanvilles Wootton, Hazelbury Bryan, Mappowder, Pulham, Stoke Wake and Woolland	1
Marnhull	The parish of Marnhull	1
Milton		1
Motcombe and Ham		1
Portman	The parishes of Blandford St Mary and Bryanston	1
Riversdale	The parishes of Charlton Marshall and Spetisbury	1
Shaftesbury Central		1
Shaftesbury Christy's		1
Shaftesbury Grosvenor		1
Shaftesbury Underhill		1
Stour Valley	The parishes of Hammoon, Hinton St Mary, Manston and Sturminster Newton	2
The Beacon	The parishes of Cann, Compton Abbas, Fontmell Magna, Melbury Abbas and Sutton Waldron	1
The Lower Tarrants	The parishes of Langton Long Blandford, Tarrant Crawford, Tarrant Keyneston, Tarrant Launceston, Tarrant Monkton, Tarrant Rawston and Tarrant Rushton	1
The Stours	The parishes of East Orchard, East Stour, Fifehead Magdalen, Margaret Marsh, Stour Provost, Todber, West Orchard and West Stour	1
Wyke		2

article 5

SCHEDULE 2 WARDS OF THE PARISH OF GILLINGHAM NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Ward	Area of Ward	Number of Councillors
Gillingham Rural	So much of the district ward of Bourton and District as comprises part of the parish of Gillingham	1
Gillingham Town	The district ward of Gillingham Town	3
Ham	So much of the district ward of Motcombe and Ham as comprises part of the parish of Gillingham	1
Lodbourne	The district ward of Lodbourne	3
Milton	The district ward of Milton	3
Wyke	The district ward of Wyke	6

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order gives effect to recommendations by the Boundary Committee for England, a committee of the Electoral Commission, for electoral changes in the district of North Dorset.

The changes have effect in relation to local government elections to be held on and after 1st May 2003.

Article 3 abolishes the existing wards of the district and provides for the creation of 28 new wards. That article and Schedule 1 also make provision for the names and areas of, and numbers of councillors for, the new wards.

Articles 4 to 6 make electoral changes in the parishes of Blandford Forum, Gillingham and Shaftesbury.

Article 8 obliges the Electoral Registration Officer to make any necessary amendments to the electoral register to reflect the new electoral arrangements.

Article 9 revokes the District of North Dorset (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1980 (S.I. 1980/1487) , with the exception of article 4.

The areas of the new district wards are demarcated on the map described in article 2. Prints of the map may be inspected at all reasonable times at the offices of North Dorset District Council and at the principal office of the Electoral Commission at Trevelyan House, Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2HW.

(1)

The Boundary Committee for England is a committee of the Electoral Commission, established by the Electoral Commission in accordance with section 14 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41). The Local Government Commission for England (Transfer of Functions) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/3962) transferred to the Electoral Commission the functions of the Local Government Commission for England.

(2)

1992 c. 19. This section has been amended by S.I. 2001/3962.

(3)

The Electoral Commission was established by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41). The functions of the Secretary of State, under sections 13 to 15 and 17 of the Local Government Act 1992, to the extent that they relate to electoral changes within the meaning of that Act, were transferred with modifications to the Electoral Commission on 1st April 2002 (S.I. 2001/3962).

(4)

This section has been amended by S.I. 2001/3962. There are amendments to this section made otherwise than by S.I. 2001/3962 that are not relevant to this Order.

(5)

This section has been amended by S.I. 2001/3962.

(6)

See the District of North Dorset (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1980 (S.I. 1980/1487).

(7)

As to electoral registration officers and the register of local government electors, see sections 8 to 13 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2).

(8)

S.I. 1980/1487.