In 2018, Borough Council of Wellingborough took the decision to undertake a Community Governance Review (CGR) of the unparished areas within the borough, under the provisions of section 81 of the Local Government and Public Involvement and Health Act 2007.
The result of this CGR was to establish a town council for Wellingborough, which was at the time the only unparished area of the borough.
A public event was held on Monday 19 August at the Swansgate Centre where residents were invited to come and ask their questions about the new Town Council. A leaflet was provided as a handout and you can view that leaflet here.
Consultation
In order to publicise the CGR as widely as possible, all residents of the town received a leaflet alongside their Household Enquiry Form (HEF) as part of the 2018 electoral register canvass, providing a link to information about the CGR along with contact details if they were not able to access the website.
Residents, local organisations, local businesses and members and any other interested parties were invited to respond to the consultation between 23 July and 23 October 2018, both via an online consultation and with paper copies which were made available at the Council offices and at various public locations across the borough.
The consultation survey was open between 23 July and 23 October 2018. You can view the responses to the survey as part of the report which was delivered to Council on 27 November 2018.
Why did the council undertake the review?
The council took the decision to undertake a review of unparished areas due to the reform of local government in Northamptonshire. The review focused on the unparished area of the borough (namely the town of Wellingborough itself) and some of the boundaries with the surrounding parishes. The council believes that parish councils play an important role in local democracy, both in terms of community empowerment and engagement, and the delivery of local services. This review aimed to ensure that each community in the borough is effectively represented so that governance within the whole of the borough continues to be robust and capable of meeting future challenges.
Ultimately, the recommendations made in a CGR should bring about improved community engagement, more cohesive communities, improved local democracy, and should result in more effective and convenient delivery of local services.
Town Council
On February 26 2019, Council discussed and agreed the following arrangements for the Town Council:
The arrangements are as follows:
- Creation of a single parish council covering the town of Wellingborough
- Recommend that the name of the proposed council to be Wellingborough Town Council
- The first elections to the proposed council to be on the same date as the next ordinary elections of parish councils in the borough (May 2020, unless this date is amended by statute)
- The number of councillors to be elected to the new parish council (council size) to be 23 councillors
- The new parish area to be divided into 9 wards for the purposes of electing councillors
- The boundaries of the wards of the new parish council to be indicated as the map found at this link
- The boundaries of Great Harrowden and Finedon parishes to be amended to allow for the Glenvale Park and Stanton Cross Sustainable Urban Extensions to be fully contained within the boundary for, and thus under the remit of, the new parish council (as indicated in the hatched areas of the map found at this link).
- The name of thewards and the number of councillors to be elected to said wards as indicated below (electorate figures as at the time of the review):
|
Ward |
Electorate |
Councillors |
Electorate per councillor |
Polling districts in ward |
|
Brickhill |
3228 |
2 |
1614 |
BA, BB, BC |
|
Croyland |
4792 |
3 |
1597 |
CB, CC, IB, FA |
|
Hatton |
3313 |
2 |
1657 |
HA, HB, HC, HD |
|
Isebrook |
1762 |
1 |
1762 |
JA, JB |
|
Queensway |
5214 |
3 |
1738 |
KA, KB, KC |
|
Redwell |
5224 |
3 |
1741 |
LA, LB |
|
Rixon |
5236 |
3 |
1745 |
MA, MB, MC, MD, ME |
|
Swanspool |
4890 |
3 |
1630 |
NA, NB, NC, ND, CA |
|
Victoria |
4784 |
3 |
1595 |
OA |
Terms of Reference
In line with legislative requirements, BCW published a Terms of Reference document which sets out:
- How the review will be conducted
- Expected timescales for the review
- What the review will focus on
- What the key considerations should be
- Factual electoral and parish information, and
- A consultation strategy
You can view the Terms of Reference document by clicking here.
You can download the notice of review by clicking here.
You can download a map of the draft proposals by clicking here.
The timetable of the 2018 review, as included in the Terms of Reference document, can be viewed below.
| Action | Timetable | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Terms of Reference published | Approval by Council: 16 May 2018 | 16 May 2018 |
| Submissions invited | Seven week consultation | 17 May 2018 to 5 July 2018 |
| Draft proposals | Submitted to Council | 17 July 2018 |
| Published | 18 July 2018 | |
| Consultation on draft proposals | Three month consultation | 23 July 2018 to 23 October 2018 |
| Final proposals | Submitted to Council | 27 November 2018 |
| Recommendations published | 28 November 2018 | |
| Re-Organisation Order made by Council (if required) |
Approval by Council: 22 January 2019 | 22 January 2019 |