Community Governance Review – Westham Parish

Status: Closed

To consider proposals put forward by an electors’ petition dated September 2019. The petition contains 483 valid signatures and is thereby deemed to be a valid petition under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

The petition reads as follows:

We the undersigned, being local government electors for Stone Cross and Hankham as recorded in the Register of Electors as at March 2019 hereby request Wealden District Council to undertake a community governance review covering the area currently contained within the parish boundary of Westham as shown on the attached map with a view to separating the local government functions of the three villages as two entities. It is envisaged that this would be achieved by the establishment of a separate parish council for the villages of Stone Cross and Hankham, the constitution of which is to be agreed between Wealden District Council and the two villages.

Results reports:

• Westham CGR consultation stage 1 summary report
• Additional written responses to the Westham CGR first stage of consultation

Key findings and changes made:

There was fairly equal representation from all three main settlements within the parish as 37% of respondents came from Stone Cross, 28% Hankham and 27% from Westham.

Over half (56%) of the respondents disagreed with the proposal to separate the parish council and create a separate administration for Stone Cross and Hankham. A quarter (29%) agreed with this idea and 15% neither agreed nor disagreed.

There were many comments from those on both sides of the proposal, which can be made available on request.

Topics covered by this consultation:

Democracy

Consultation Start Date: 15/08/2022

Consultation End Date: 16/09/2022

Results expected by: 03/10/2022

Please note: these dates are subject to change.

Areas covered by this consultation:

Westham 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), Postal

What Happens Next?

If the outcome of the CGR affects District Ward and County Division boundaries, the District Council will consider and consult upon the consequential boundary changes and make recommendations to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) to make alterations to those boundaries to reflect any changes made at parish level.

The electoral arrangements affecting Wealden parish boundaries were amended by The Wealden (Electoral Changes) Order 2016 (dated 15 December 2016), and as a full five years has passed since that Order was made, the consent of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England will not be required before any local Community Governance Reorganisation Order can be made.