Council
19 October 2011
Agenda Item No_____8________
Review of polling arrangements in North Norfolk 2011
Summary:
The Returning Officer is required every four years to undertake a
review of polling districts and polling places within the Council’s
administrative boundaries and to make any recommendations for
change. Whilst undertaking this statutory review, the Returning
Officer has separately considered the current provision and
location of polling stations within the District and as a result of
our own internal analysis together with various suggestions for
change submitted by town and parish councils, wishes to advise
councillors of a number of revisions which will come into
immediate effect and be applied as relevant to all future elections
held in North Norfolk.
Conclusions:
A thorough review process has been undertaken involving a range of
consultees. The Returning Officer is satisfied that the changes set out
in the report will not compromise electors’ ability to vote and will
continue to offer personal choice of voting method.
Recommendations:
Council is RECOMMENDED to approve the following change of
Polling District and Polling Place, effective from 1 December 2011:
• Polling District UM4 Gunthorpe South and Polling District UN4
Gunthorpe North (Bale) be merged into a single Polling District
UM4 Gunthorpe
and to NOTE that the Polling Place for Gunthorpe Polling District be
Gunthorpe Village Institute.
Council is separately REQUESTED to note the changes to polling
station arrangements for all future elections as set out in the attached
schedule.
Cabinet member(s):
Ward(s) affected:
Councillor Tom Fitzpatrick
Various as detailed in the accompanying report
Suzanne Taylor, Electoral Services Manager
01263 516046
suzanne.taylor@north-norfolk.gov.uk
Contact Officer, telephone number,
and e-mail:
Council
19 October 2011
Introduction
1.
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 (EAA 2006) introduced for all polling districts and
polling places to be reviewed by each Council by the end of 2007 and then every 4 years
thereafter. Under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1983 it is the
Council’s duty to fix polling districts and to designate polling places within those districts
and it is the Returning Officer’s duty to determine the polling stations within the polling
places at which polling is to take place. The Council delegated the designation of polling
places to the Returning Officer (RO) in May 2008.
A polling district is a geographical sub-division of an electoral area, i.e. an area in the
constituency for which the electors vote together at the same polling place such as a UK
Parliamentary constituency, a European Parliamentary electoral region, a ward or an
electoral division. Polling districts are identified by three letters that distinguish the polling
district and that, together with the elector’s number from the register of electors for that
district, make up the elector’s distinctive and unique electoral registration number.
A polling place is a readily identifiable place within the polling district to which the
electors will go to vote. However, as there is no legal definition of what a polling place is
the area could be defined as tightly as a particular building or as widely as the entire
polling district. The entire polling district would be designated as the polling place if for
special reasons electors could not vote within their own polling district.
A polling station is the building or part of a building where the actual process of voting
takes place. It is located within the polling place and must be designated by the
Returning Officer for the particular polling district. The extent of the polling station will
depend upon local circumstances
The review process
2. The North Norfolk review was started on 1 August 2011 by a display of notices
throughout the District and on the Electoral Services (ES) web pages, inviting any
elector within the constituency to make a representation by 5 September about existing
polling districts and polling places, and to stress that the Council would welcome a
representation in this respect from any person or organisation with expertise in access to
premises or facilities for persons with any form of disability.
3. A consultation letter and document which included background information of the review,
a map and tables of existing polling districts, polling places and polling stations together
with the RO’s proposals were sent to those individuals and organisations (eg local
political parties, parish councils, district and county councillors, MP’s, local disability
groups etc.) likely to have an interest in such matters, inviting representations to be
submitted by 5 September. Publicity was also given to the review by way of press/media
releases.
4. The intention is for the review to be completed in time for any alterations to be made to
polling districts in the next revised edition of the Register of Electors which is published
on 1st December 2011.
Council
19 October 2011
Consultation responses
5. There were no submissions received concerning the alteration of polling districts that
were not in the RO’s proposals, and therefore the current boundaries of these appear to
be satisfactory. This is perhaps not surprising as the vast majority of polling districts
mirror the areas of the civil parishes, and where those parishes are split into multiple
polling districts (eg most of the larger towns), the boundaries of those polling districts
were fixed in 2003 when District warding proposals arising out of the last Periodic
Electoral Review of the District by the Boundary Commission for England were
implemented.
6. However, submissions were received in connection with the proposed polling district
merger of Gunthorpe North and Gunthorpe South and certain other polling places and
stations. In total 48 submissions were received, of which 44 supported the current
arrangements or RO’s proposals. These submissions will be published in the final
review report once the review is complete and will be available for public inspection. It
should be pointed out that the RO proposed that electors in 5 polling districts (Dunton,
Ingworth, Morston, Horsey and Sidestrand), all with a very small electorate of less than
100, should vote in a neighbouring polling station for economic and efficiency reasons
and suggestions for the most suitable neighbouring polling station in their ward were
invited. Also, closure of one of the two polling stations in Gunthorpe parish was
proposed.
7. In the responses received from Dunton and Horsey a neighbouring polling district was
suggested. In respect of the changes suggested for Ingworth, Morston, Sidestrand and
Gunthorpe, parish councils were not in favour of the RO proposals. However, the RO
after considering all responses received and looking at different options for each Parish
has made the decision to close the 6 polling stations with under 100 electors for
economic and efficiency reasons and to provide two alternative methods of voting for
the electors within each parish. A postal vote campaign will be carried out and a minibus service will be trialled in the 5 parishes above. The savings from implementing
these changes will be £3000.
8. Additionally, further polling station changes will be made in response to suggestions
from local councils which will both improve voter facilities and place polling stations
within their respective polling districts where anomalies have previously existed.
9. The RO considers that all remaining current polling stations represent the most suitable
locations available to serve the electors of the polling districts. Where those polling
stations are not wholly accessible to voters with disabilities, efforts will continue to be
made to encourage and support improvements to access where possible or to seek
more suitable alternative accommodation. Currently, approximately 8% of the polling
stations in North Norfolk fall into this bracket (10 out of 131).
Council
19 October 2011
Implications stemming from the review
10. The following implications should be noted
•
Financial
The review will generate net savings of around £3000 at each district-wide election.
There are no other financial implications.
•
Sustainability
There are no implications regarding sustainability
•
Risk
There are no additional risk factors associated with the review.
arrangements will be publicised to ensure public awareness.
•
The revised
Equality
The closure of certain polling stations could reduce accessibility to voting
arrangements for electors with impaired mobility and those without personal transport.
This potentially adverse outcome will be mitigated in the following ways:
(a) A concerted campaign to encourage postal voting in each locality affected
by change
(b) For the immediate future, the provision of a timetabled minibus service to
serve those villages where the polling station is closed as a result of this
review.
Conclusions and recommendations
11.
A thorough review process has been undertaken involving a range of consultees. The
Returning Officer is satisfied that the changes set out in the report will not
compromise electors’ ability to vote and will continue to offer personal choice of voting
method.
12.
Council is RECOMMENDED to approve the following change of Polling District
effective from 1 December 2011:
•
Polling District UM4 Gunthorpe South and Polling District UN4 Gunthorpe North
(Bale) be merged into a single Polling District UM4 Gunthorpe
and to NOTE that the Polling Place for Gunthorpe Polling District will be Gunthorpe
Village Institute.
13.
Council is separately REQUESTED to note the changes to polling places and polling
station arrangements for all future elections as set out in the attached schedule in the
Appendix .
Council
19 October 2011
Appendix A
Changes to Polling Places and Polling Stations 2011
Except for the following, no changes to be made to existing polling places designated for
parliamentary polling districts in the District of North Norfolk;
1. The polling place for the polling districts of KL4 & KL5 East & West Beckham be
redesignated from the Wheatsheaf to West Beckham Church, West Beckham;
2. The polling place for the polling district of MC2 North Walsham North be redesignated from
the Community Centre to St Johns Ambulance Hall, North Walsham;
3. The polling place for the polling district of MD2 North Walsham Town be redesignated from
The Sadlers Shop to Sacred Heart Parish Hall, North Walsham;
4. The polling place for the polling district of MN1 Scottow be redesignated from Three
Horseshoes to Battle of Britain Memorial Hall Scottow;
5. The electors in the polling district of LS4 Ingworth be designated to vote in the neighbouring
polling district of KZ4 Erpingham and LS4 designated as the polling place;
6. The electors in the polling district of UX1 Morston be designated to vote in the neighbouring
polling district of UD1 Blakeney and UX1 designated as the polling place;
7. The electors in the polling district of MU4 Sidestrand be designated to vote in the
neighbouring polling district of NH1 Trimingham and MU4 be designated as the polling
place;
8. The electors in the polling district of UH4 Dunton be designated to vote in the neighbouring
polling district of UQ1 Hempton and UH4 be designated as the polling place;
9. The electors in the polling district of LN4 Horsey be designated to vote in the neighbouring
polling district of MP4 Sea Palling and LN4 designated as the polling place;
10. The electors in the now merged polling district of UN4 Gunthorpe North (Bale) and UM4
Gunthorpe South be designated to vote in the new combined polling district of UM4
Gunthorpe;
11. The electors in the polling district of KH5 Plumstead be transferred from KH4 Little
Barningham Village Hall and designated to vote at KF4 Baconsthorpe Village Hall;
12. The electors in the polling district of KV1 Cromer Town East be transferred from Merchants
Place, Church Street and designated to vote at Cromer Community Centre in Garden Street,
Cromer.