Number of East Dean & Friston Parish Councillors

Status: Closed

The proposal

As part of this review, East Dean and Friston Parish Council have requested that Wealden District Council consider implementing a reduction in the number of their parish councillors from fourteen to ten. The Parish Council states that it has struggled for some while to obtain sufficient councillor numbers: in 2007, there were nine validly nominated councillors and in 2003 just five, meaning council meetings were only quorate and thus able to make decisions if every single councillor was able to attend.

The numbers

The electorate of East Dean and Friston parish currently stands at 1,421 electors, and forecasts predict electorate numbers will stay virtually static over the next five years. Guidance provided by the National Association of Local Councils recommends that a parish council serving between 1400 and 2000 electors should consist of nine parish councillors close to the council’s own recommendation of ten councillors.

Currently, there is one parish councillor for every 102 East Dean and Friston electors. With the proposed reduction to ten councillors this would decrease to one councillor to every 142 electors. The average across the District currently stands at one parish or town councillor to every 253 electors.

For key findings and changes made see results below:

Topics covered by this consultation:

Democracy

Consultation Start Date: 09/11/2009

Consultation End Date: 31/01/2010

Results expected by: 10/03/2010

Please note: these dates are subject to change.

Areas covered by this consultation:

East Dean & Friston Parish

Target audience for this consultation:

Wealden Residents, Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations

Frequency of this consultation: One-off

Methods of consultation used:

Postal, Online (All Public)

What Happens Next?

The results of the consultation will be reported to the Council’s Regulatory and Audit Committee on 10 March 2010. It is anticipated that the Committee will make a decision at that meeting. The ou