Community Governance Review stage 2 – Framfield Parish

Status: Closed

Wealden District Council, as the Principal Council in this matter, is undertaking a Community Governance Review at the request of Framfield Parish Council.

The Review was formally requested by Framfield Parish Council on 9^th June 2022 and accepted by Wealden District Council’s Audit, Finance and Governance Committee on 27^th July 2022.

The Parish Council is seeking a reduction in the number of Framfield parish councillors from 11 to 9.

Terms of Reference for the Review have been published and an initial period of community consultation carried out. The results of the community consultation were reported to the Audit, Finance and Governance Committee on 21^st September 2022.

A summary of the initial community consultation is available on our Consultation Diary website by clicking this link.

Currently, Framfield Parish is an unwarded parish comprising the polling districts of Blackboys (WUSB) and Framfield (WUSC), with 11 seats on the Parish Council. The Parish Council has requested a reduction in the numbers of parish council seats, feeling that 9 would be more appropriate.

In considering the electoral and governance arrangements of an area, the District Council is required to consider the potential for change in the number or distribution of electors over the next five years. The following electorate forecast can be made for Framfield:

Polling District	Parish	Parish Ward	Electorate	Housing completions to March 2021	Housing projections to March 2026	Electorate Forecast to 2026
WUSB Blackboys	Framfield	None	648	27	97	714
WUSC Framfield	Framfield	None	1,010			1,118

For the last 3 terms, the Framfield Parish Council election has been uncontested with the following number of candidates standing: 2 May 2019 – 5 candidates; 7 May 2015 – 7 candidates and 5 May 2011 – 8 candidates.

The following sets out draft Recommendations following an initial period of community consultation.

Recommendation 1: That the number of parish councillors for the parish of Framfield be decreased from eleven (11) to nine (9).

Recommendation 2: That the decrease in the number of Parish Councillors take place for the ordinary day of election of councillors in May 2023.

Results reports:

• Framfield CGR consultation stage 2 summary report

Key findings and changes made:

Both proposals were wholly supported by those who chose to respond to the second stage consultation.

Topics covered by this consultation:

Democracy

Consultation Start Date: 01/11/2022

Consultation End Date: 30/11/2022

Results expected by: 19/12/2022

Please note: these dates are subject to change.

Areas covered by this consultation:

Framfield Parish

Target audience for this consultation:

Wealden Residents, Town and Parish Councils, Key Stakeholders

Frequency of this consultation: One-off

Methods of consultation used:

Online Survey (All Public)

What Happens Next?

It is envisaged that these draft recommendations, if approved, would be implemented from the 1^st April 2023, and take effect from the next ordinary elections taking place on 4^th May 2023.