The District of Broadland (Electoral Changes) Order 2003

Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 157

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND

The District of Broadland (Electoral Changes) Order 2003

Made

27th January 2003

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 July 2002 on its review of the district of Broadland together with its recommendations:

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

And whereas the Electoral Commission have decided to give effect, with one modification, to 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 Broadland (Electoral Changes) Order 2003.

(2) This Order shall come into force—

• for the purpose of proceedings preliminary or relating to any election to be held on 6th May 2004, on 15th October 2003;

• for all other purposes, on 6th May 2004.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“district” means the district of Broadland;

“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 Broadland (Electoral Changes) Order 2003” of which prints are available for inspection at—

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

(b) the offices of Broadland District Council.

Wards of the district of Broadland

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

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

(3) The number of councillors to be elected for each ward shall be the number specified in respect of the ward in column (2) 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.

Elections of the council of Broadland

4.—(1) Elections of all councillors for all wards of the district shall be held simultaneously on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2004(7)(8).

(2) The councillors holding office for any ward of the district immediately before 10th May 2004 shall retire on that date and the newly elected councillors for those wards shall come into office on that date.

(3) The order of retirement of councillors shall be as set out in Schedule 2.

(4) Where the number of councillors elected in 2004 for any ward of the district is two or more—

(a) the first to retire shall, subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), be the councillor elected by the smallest number of votes; and

(b) the second to retire shall, subject to those paragraphs, be the councillor elected by the next smallest number of votes.

(5) In the case of an equality of votes between any persons elected which makes it uncertain which of them is to retire in any year, the person to retire in that year shall be determined by lot.

(6) If an election of councillors for any ward is not contested, the person to retire in each year shall be determined by lot.

(7) Where under this article any question is to be determined by lot, the lot shall be drawn at the next practicable meeting of the council after the question has arisen and the drawing shall be conducted under the direction of the person presiding at the meeting.

Wards of the parish of Drayton

5.  The parish shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Drayton North and Drayton South; each parish ward shall comprise the area of the district ward bearing the same name, and the number of councillors to be elected for the parish ward of Drayton North shall be six, and for the parish ward of Drayton South shall be seven.

Wards of the parish of Hellesdon

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

(2) The parish shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Hellesdon North West and Hellesdon South East; and 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 eight.

Wards of the parish of Sprowston

7.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Sprowston shall be abolished.

(2) The parish shall be divided into three parish wards which shall bear the names Sprowston Central, Sprowston East and Sprowston West; the parish wards of Sprowston Central and Sprowston East shall comprise the area of the district ward bearing the same name, and the parish ward of Sprowston West shall consist of the rest of the parish.

(3) The number of councillors to be elected for the parish ward of Sprowston West shall be two, for the parish ward of Sprowston Central shall be five, and for the parish ward of Sprowston East shall be eight.

Wards of the parish of Taverham

8.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Taverham shall be abolished.

(2) The parish shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Taverham North and Taverham South; and each parish ward shall comprise the area of the district ward bearing the same name; and the number of parish councillors to be elected for the parish ward of Taverham South shall be seven, and for the parish ward of Taverham North shall be eight.

Wards of the parish of Thorpe St Andrew

9.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Thorpe St Andrew shall be abolished.

(2) The parish shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Thorpe St Andrew North West, and Thorpe St Andrew South East; and 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 eight.

Parish Elections

10.—(1) The term of office of every parish councillor elected on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2002 for the parishes of Cawston, Drayton, Felthorpe, Hevingham, Rackheath, Salhouse, Stratton Strawless and Thorpe St Andrew shall be two years.

(2) The term of office of every parish councillor elected on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2003 for the parishes of Horsford, South Walsham, Strumpshaw, Upton with Fishley and Woodbastwick shall be three years; and each such councillor shall, unless he resigns his office or it otherwise becomes vacant, continue to hold office until the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2006.

(3) The term of office of every parish councillor elected on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2004 for the parishes of Coltishall, Great and Little Plumstead, Great Witchingham, Honingham, Horstead with Stanninghall, Reedham, Reepham, Ringland, and Weston Longville, and for the Alderford, Little Witchingham and Swannington group(9), shall be three years; and each such councillor shall, unless he resigns his office or it otherwise becomes vacant, continue to hold office until the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2007.

(4) The ordinary elections of parish councillors for the parish of Taverham in 2003 shall not take place; and any such parish councillor holding office immediately before 5th May 2003 who would, but for this paragraph, have retired on that date shall, unless he resigns his office or it otherwise becomes vacant, continue to hold office until the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2004.

(5) Elections of all parish councillors for the parishes of Coltishall, Drayton, Great and Little Plumstead, Great Witchingham, Honingham, Horstead with Stanninghall, Hevingham, Reedham, Reepham, Ringland, Stratton Strawless and Weston Longville, and for the Alderford, Swannington and Little Witchingham Group, shall be held simultaneously on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2004, 2007 and every fourth year after 2007.

(6) Elections of all parish councillors for the parishes of Brundall, Cantley, Cawston, Felthorpe, Foulsham, Hellesdon, Old Catton, Postwick with Witton, Rackheath, Salhouse, Taverham, Thorpe St Andrew and Wood Dalling shall take place on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2004 and every fourth year after 2004.

(7) Elections of all parish councillors for the parishes of Aylsham, Blickling, Blofield, Hemblington, Horsham St Faith and Newton St Faith, Horsford, Marsham, Oulton, South Walsham, Spixworth, Strumpshaw, Upton with Fishley, Woodbastwick and Wroxham shall be held simultaneously on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2006 and every fourth year after 2006.

(8) The term of office of all parish councillors elected in accordance with paragraphs (5), (6) and (7) above shall be four years; and they shall retire on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of councillors in the year of retirement and the newly elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.

(9) Rule 8 of the Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) Rules 1986(10) (filling of casual vacancies) shall have effect, in the case of a casual vacancy occurring before 10th May 2004 in the parish of Taverham as if the references in paragraphs (1) and (4) of that rule to the day on which that councillor would regularly have retired were a reference to 10th May 2004.

Maps

11.  Broadland District Council shall make a print of the map marked “Map referred to in the District of Broadland (Electoral Changes) Order 2003” available for inspection at its offices by any member of the public at any reasonable time.

Electoral Registers

12.  The Electoral Registration Officer(11) 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

13.  The District of Broadland (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977(12) is revoked, save for articles 5 and 6.

Signed by the members of the Electoral Commission

Pamela Gordon

Commissioner

23rd January 2003

Glyn Mathias

Commissioner

23rd January 2003

Neil McIntosh

Commissioner

23rd January 2003

Karamjit Singh

Commissioner

23rd January 2003

Sam Younger

Commissioner

23rd January 2003

Graham Zellick

Commissioner

27th January 2003

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
Acle	The parish of Acle	1
Aylsham	The parishes of Aylsham, Blicking, Burgh and Tuttington, Marsham and Oulton	3
Blofield with South Walsham	The parishes of Blofield, Hemblington, South Walsham, Upton with Fishley and Woodbastwick	2
Brundall	The parishes of Brundall, Cantley, Postwick with Witton and Strumpshaw	2
Burlingham	The parish of Lingwood and Burlingham	1
Buxton	The parishes of Brampton, Buxton with Lammas and Frettenham	1
Coltishall	The parishes of Coltishall, Crostwick and Horstead with Stanninghall	1
Drayton North		1
Drayton South		1
Eynesford	The parishes of Cawston, Foulsham, Guestwick, Heydon, Salle, Themelthorpe and Wood Dalling	1
Great Witchingham	The parishes of Alderford, Attlebridge, Booton, Brandiston, Great Witchingham, Haveringland, Honingham, Little Witchingham, Morton on the Hill, Ringland, Swannington, and Weston Longville	1
Hellesdon North West		2
Hellesdon South East		2
Hevingham	The parishes of Hainford, Hevingham and Stratton Strawless	1
Horsford and Felthorpe	The parishes of Horsford and Felthorpe	2
Marshes	The parishes of Beighton, Freethorpe, Halvergate and Reedham	1
Old Catton and Sprowston West		3
Plumstead	The parish of Great and Little Plumstead	1
Reepham	The parish of Reepham	1
Spixworth with St Faiths	The parishes of Beeston St Andrew, Horsham St Faith and Newton St Faith and Spixworth	2
Sprowston Central		2
Sprowston East		3
Taverham North		2
Taverham South		2
Thorpe St Andrew North West		3
Thorpe St Andrew South East		3
Wroxham	The parishes of Belaugh, Rackheath, Salhouse and Wroxham	2

Article 4(3)

SCHEDULE 2 ORDER OF RETIREMENT OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
Name of Ward	Number of Councillors to retire in 2006	Number of Councillors to retire in 2007	Number of Councillors to retire in 2008
Acle	0	1	0
Aylsham	1	1	1
Blofield with South Walsham	1	0	1
Brundall	1	0	1
Burlingham	0	1	0
Buxton	0	1	0
Coltishall	0	1	0
Drayton North	0	1	0
Drayton South	0	1	0
Eynesford	0	0	1
Great Witchingham	0	1	0
Hellesdon North West	1	0	1
Hellesdon South East	1	0	1
Hevingham	0	1	0
Horsford & Felthorpe	1	0	1
Marshes	0	1	0
Old Catton and Sprowston West	1	1	1
Plumstead	0	1	0
Reepham	0	1	0
Spixworth with St Faiths	1	0	1
Sprowston Central	1	0	1
Sprowston East	1	1	1
Taverham North	1	0	1
Taverham South	1	0	1
Thorpe St Andrew North West	1	1	1
Thorpe St Andrew South East	1	1	1
Wroxham	1	0	1

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order gives effect, with one modification, to recommendations by the Boundary Committee for England, a committee of the Electoral Commission, for electoral changes in the district of Broadland. The changes have effect in relation to local government elections to be held on and after 6th May 2004.

The modification relates to the boundary between Taverham North and Taverham South wards.

Article 3 abolishes the existing wards of the district and provides for the creation of 14 new wards.

Article 4 makes provision for a whole council election in 2004 and for reversion to elections by thirds in subsequent years. Schedule 2 regulates the order of retirement of councillors.

Articles 5 to 9 make electoral changes in the parishes of Drayton, Hellesdon, Sprowston, Taverham and Thorpe St Andrew.

Article 10 provides for the election of certain parish councillors in the district.

Article 12 obliges the Electoral Registration Officer to make any necessary amendments to the electoral register to reflect the new electoral arrangements.

Article 13 revokes the District of Broadland (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/1390), with the exception of articles 5 and 6.

The areas of the new district wards are demarcated on the map described in article 3. Prints of the map may be inspected at all reasonable times at the offices of Broadland 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 arrangements within the meaning of that Act, were transferred with modifications to the Electoral Commission on 1 April 2002 (S.I. 2001/3962).

(4)

This section has been amended by S.I. 2001/3962 and otherwise in ways not relevant to this Order.

(5)

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

(6)

See the District of Broadland (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/1390).

(7)

Article 4 provides for a single election of all the councillors and for reversion to the system of elections by thirds, as established by article 4 of the District of Broadland (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/1434).

(8)

For the ordinary day of election of councillors of local government areas, see section 37 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2), amended by section 18(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (c. 50) and section 17 of, and paragraphs 1 and 5 of Schedule 3 to, the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29).

(9)

The parishes of Alderford, Little Witchingham and Swannington were grouped under a common parish council by an Order made by Broadland District Council on 29th October 1991 under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70).

(10)

S.I. 1986/2215, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Order.

(11)

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

(12)

S.I. 1977/1390.