Committee Report: Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places
Report to: |
Council |
|---|---|
Date: |
10 January 2007 |
Subject: |
Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places |
Report of: |
Chief Executive |
Contact officer: |
Brian Hayes - 01942 827171 |
Purpose / summary: |
To report the findings of the 2006 review. |
Alternative options considered and reason for selecting the one recommended: |
There are none. |
Recommendation / decision: |
To consider the recommendations of the Cabinet on any changes to polling places and stations as set out in the report. |
Key Decision: |
This report does not involve a key decision. |
Implications: |
|
Financial: |
£4,269 saving |
Staffing: |
None. |
Policy: |
None. |
Equal Opportunities - Has a Diversity Impact Assessment been conducted? |
No |
Wards affected: |
All |
Special Interest Members – Which have been consulted |
None. |
Tracking/Process:
|
Consultation |
Ward Members |
Partners |
|---|---|---|---|
|
- |
August 2006 |
- |
Panel |
Overview & Scrutiny |
Cabinet |
Council |
- |
- |
16 November 2006 |
10 January 2007 |
There are no Background Papers to this Report within the meaning of Section 100D of the Local Government Act 1972.
Proper Officer |
J. Redfearn |
|---|---|
Date |
9 October 2006 |
Background
1. This report is submitted in accordance with Minute 238.2(2) of January 1987 of the former Policy Committee and is the usual annual review of Polling Districts and Polling Places following consultation with all Members of the Council and the Authority’s Members of Parliament.
2. Throughout this report, reference is made to disabled access surveys of Polling Places and Members are reminded that the higher the number, the more access problems there are with the property concerned.
Proposals
3. Lowton East LFF – 4,203 Electors: Andy Burnham MP has suggested Church Lane Community Centre as an alternative location for the Polling Place. The current Polling Place is Lowton St Luke’s CE Primary School at the other end of Church Lane. At peak times, there is heavy traffic congestion backing up from the nearby junction with the East Lancashire Road and this can cause problems for electors gaining access to the Polling Place. The new location is easier to access and there is ample parking, another problem at the school. The Community Centre has been inspected and has a disabled access score of 1 (compared to 0 for the school). This relates to the location of a bollard at the entrance to the building and the owners have agreed to approach their landlords to have it removed.
The attached map A shows the locations of the existing and the proposed Polling Places.
4. Leigh West LDE – 1,583 Electors: As reported last year, Our Lady of the Rosary RC J&I School, Heath Lane, Leigh, which serves as the Polling Place, closed in August. Investigations have failed to find an alternative location within the Polling District and it is proposed to move the Polling Place to Leigh St Peter’s CE Infants School (the Polling Place for Polling District LDD).
The attached map B shows the locations of the existing and the proposed Polling Places.
5. Revenue Budget and Gershon Savings: Following the introduction of postal votes on demand, the number of applications has shown a tenfold increase to over 30,000. Postal votes are expensive to process and the costs increase with the number of applications received. Conversely, the costs of providing Polling Places are fixed irrespective of how many electors decide to vote in person.
As part of the Revenue Budget process, I have undertaken a review of those Polling Districts where there are a small number of electors. Closing those Polling Places and transferring the electors to adjoining Polling Places will go some way towards containing the postal vote costs; can contribute towards any budget savings required; and can count as Gershon savings.
As a first stage, those Polling Places that had less than 300 electors (after netting off the number of electors choosing to vote by post) were reviewed and another situation suggested itself during that exercise. The findings were as follows:-
Polling District |
Electors |
Postal votes |
Net electors |
Saving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shevington with Lower Ground WAC ( Crooke Methodist Church) moved to WAD (St. Anne’s CE Primary School) |
91 |
10 |
81 (27) |
£320 |
Wigan Central WEE (Planning Foyer) moved to WEF (St Michael’s Parish Hall) |
280 |
54 |
226 (78) |
£333 |
Winstanley MBA (Winstanley Primary) moved to MBC (St Aidan’s RC Primary) |
523 |
85 |
438 (132) |
£333 |
Hindley LAD (Mornington High) move to LAB (Castle Hill CE Primary) or LAC (Hindley Primary) |
220 |
38 |
182 (47) |
£333 |
Hindley Green LBC Hindley Green Methodist Church) moved to LBB (St John’s Parish Hall) |
179 |
11 |
168 (43) |
£370 |
Lowton East LFE ( Lane Head Methodist Church) moved to LFD (St Catherine’s Church Conference Room) |
(240)
709
|
(22)
70
|
(218) (70) 639
|
£320 |
Total saving 2007/08 |
|
|
|
£2009.00 |
The figures in bold represent the number of electors likely to have voted in 2006 calculated on the turnout for the Ward concerned.
In the case of MBA, there is no suitable building in the Polling District but an additional building in Polling District MBC is the designated Polling Place. Since the electors have to travel anyway, it is recommended that only one Polling Place is used for both Districts.
In the case of LFE, St Catherine’s Church Conference Room is a safer location with car parking whilst Lane Head Methodist Church has no parking and is situated at a very busy junction and with pedestrian access straight off the highway. Although this will mean that the majority of electors will have to cross the main road, it is considered the safer option.
Maps C – H indicate the relevant locations.
Finally, Polling Stations (the issuing table and ballot box) within Polling Places (the building) are provided currently for every 1,500 electors. A review of Polling Places with more than one Polling Station was undertaken assuming 2,000 electors per Station instead and this has indicated that 10 Stations can be dispensed with showing a saving of £2,260 without affecting the efficiency of the election. The Polling Places concerned are as follows:-
WAE |
St Bernadette’s RC J&I School, Church Lane, Shevington |
|---|---|
WDB |
7th Wigan (All Saints) Scout Group Headquarters, Delph Street, Wigan |
WEF |
St Michael's Parish Hall, Shaw Street, Wigan |
WFB |
Marsh Green Community Centre, Kitt Green Road, Marsh Green
|
WGE |
The Mount Zion Independent Methodist Church Sunday School, Enfield Street, Pemberton, Wigan |
MDB |
St Peter's CE J&I School, Downall Green Road, Bryn |
LAB |
Castle Hill CE J&I School, Hereford Road, Hindley |
LDC |
Leigh CE Infant School, Walmesley Road, Leigh |
LYA |
Dorset Road Community Centre, Devonshire Road, Atherton |
WYK |
Tyldesley St. George’s Central School , Darlington Street, Tyldesley |
This added to the savings suggested above brings the total saving to £4,269.
6. Ward Members have been consulted on these proposals in particular and any comments received are set out in the appendix.
Alternative options considered and reason for the recommended option:
7. There are none.
Conclusions
8. The Cabinet is requested to decide on a recommendation to Council on the following proposals where comments against the proposals (set out in the appendix to the report) have been received from Councillors:-
Lowton East LFF: Whether to move from the current polling place at Lowton St Luke’s CE Primary School to Church Lane Community Centre (paragraph 3 refers).
Leigh West LDE: Whether to move to Leigh St Peter’s CE Infants School (the original polling place of Our Lady of the Rosary RC J&I School having closed) (paragraph 4 refers).
Shevington with Lower Ground: Whether to move from Crooke Methodist Church to St. Anne’s CE Primary School (paragraph 5 refers).
Lowton East: Whether to move from Lane Head Methodist Church to St Catherine’s Church Conference Room (paragraph 5 refers).
9. The Cabinet is requested to recommend the Council to agree all remaining proposal in paragraph 5.
10. The Council is requested to consider the recommendations of the Cabinet on these proposals and to make the necessary decisions.
Appendix
(258kb)Appendix
Comments received from Councillor IA Franzen (Lowton East):-
I would like to object to the proposed changes below.
1. Lowton East LFF the location at Lowton St Lukes has always been suitable and is more central in the ward and is more likely to encourage voting. It is fully accessible for disabled access and presents no significant problems to traffic, certainly it handles the school traffic which would be greater at peak times than the more steady flow of voters throughout the day. Parking similarly does not present great problems.
Church Lane Community centre would present disabled access problems and if the bollard were moved/removed it may attract more vandalism. The entrance to the car park is close to a busy junction and can be heavily trafficked for the shops/restaurants at any time causing congestion at the traffic lights. It is not central in the ward and so may attract fewer voters.
2. LFE Lane Head Methodist Church is a suitable location on the safer side of a busy road with good pedestrian access. As we encourage people to walk it is the better and safer option, not everybody has a car. There would be no encouragement for people to vote by moving the polling station further away across a busy road despite better parking access at St Catherine's Church.
Elderly and disabled voters are set in their ways and may be put off from voting in person by the proposed changes. The potential financial savings would not offset the potential loss of voters and therefore democracy.
The financial savings do not outweigh the potential loss to voting democracy.
I propose no change in the above cases.
Comments received from Councillor J. Miller (Lowton East):-
I would second Sandy's views in addition we asked at the Lane Head Residents Meeting and the agreement was that they would not want the polling station moved.
Lowton St Lukes is in the centre of Lowton and much closer to the residents - the community centre is on the edge of the town. Parking can be difficult at the community centre due to the shops, etc. there and like Sandy said the junction is incredibly busy and would probably put people off walking to the polling station.
I would suggest that neither are moved.
Comments received from Councillor E Houlton (Lowton East):-
I too must add my voice to that of Sandy. Also, I have had several meeting with members of the ward and they have strongly urged me to keep the station where it is. As far as I am concerned, they pay our wages so they get to vote where they want to.
Comments received from Councillor PR Franzen (Golborne and Lowton West):-
I wish to endorse the comments of Councillors Ian Franzen and Jonathan Miller in the emails below.
The existing arrangements have worked well for many years and the voters are familiar with the location of their polling stations.
My colleagues and I have received reports from members of the public that when polling stations have been re-located in the past, as in Golborne this year, it creates confusion and in some cases has resulted in some regular voters not voting.
Comments received from Councillor Mrs MJ Whiteside (Leigh West):-
I refer to your review of Leigh West. I note your comments that Our Lady of the Rosary RC School in Heath Lane closed in August of this year so can not be used as a polling station in the 2007 local elections.
The polling station already exists in St Peter's CE Infants and gets very busy at certain times of the day.
I suggest we have a portakabin on Plank Lane because St Peter's infants is too far from the Common Lane end of Plank Lane, Crankwood Estate and the Charity Farm Estate. Quite a few elderly live in sheltered housing in that area and St Peter's is too far for many of them to travel. They do not all want postal votes but prefer to go in person to vote, like they have always done.
The cost should not be an issue, a portakabin is placed on Wigan Road, so the Plank Lane area should not be disadvantaged, plus you would have had to hire the school at a cost.
I feel very strongly about your proposal and should you still wish to go ahead with it can you tell me who I approach with my grievance. Regards Myra
Councillor JA O’Neill (Shevington with Lower Ground) supports the proposals
Comments received from Councillor AML Bland (Shevington with Lower Ground):-
On the email regarding Polling stations, it was said about not having a polling station at Crooke Village, and instead the residents should use Standish Lower Ground.
I would like to object & think that this polling station should be kept open at Crooke Methodist Hall.
For people who cannot drive the polling station at St Annes School is too far away to get to & not easily possible by public transport.
We should be encouraging people to make use of their vote & this does totally the opposite.
Comments received from Councillor N Whittingham (Standish with Langtree):-
I would also like to protest against the proposal to rid Crooke of its polling station. From my own experience during this years election campaign the Conservatives appeared to receive excellent feedback from a large number of Crooke residents.
I am sure that these proposals would by no means be part of a plan to prevent potential Conservative supporters from voting.
Comments received from Councillor Gareth W Fairhurst (Wigan Central):-
I note with great interest the comments and views of the Hard working Councillor Bland.
I feel that these views are the views of many of Crooke Village and also make common sense that the residents of Crooke village should keep and retain their polling station to keep and encourage the people to go out and vote.
Therefore I hope that Wigan MBC will keep this polling station in place and make this decision at the earliest opportunity.
Comments received from Councillor George A Fairhurst (Standish with Langtree):-
I am also supporting Cllr Angela Bland in objecting to Crooke Polling being close down we should be encouraging people to VOTE
Councillor R. Winkworth (Winstanley) supports the proposals.
Any further comments received will be reported at the meeting.