Community Governance Review - Draft Recommendation 3 - Desborough

Overview

Summary of Proposal

The Desborough Town Council proposal recommends changes to internal warding patterns, including the creation of a new ward whilst retaining the existing 12 councillor membership.

Desborough Town Council proposal Ref: DESB

Pantile Ward – the Town Council proposes the creation of a new Pantile Ward that would cover the area of the existing Grange estate together with the other new developments to the north of the railway line and off Harborough Road.

The town council has suggested that each of the wards should have 4 councillors which equates to the following

• St Giles Ward - 946 councillors per elector
• Loatland Ward - 894 councillors per elector
• Pantile Ward - 802 councillors per elector

The town council proposal has a slightly higher electorate for the St Giles Ward but provides justification for this in terms of the anticipated growth in electorate for the Loatland and proposed Pantile wards that it believes will help to balance levels of representation in these areas.

Other proposals for the parish of Desborough:

A proposal was received from a member of the public regarding the parish warding arrangements for Desborough. The proposal suggested creating a third ward for Desborough named either Desborough North or Desborough Grange ward. The proposal recommended using the railway line as the internal parish boundary as this is a clearly defined feature of the landscape.

View the full submission (CGR12, page 15) by Desborough Town Council and the full submission (CGR 14, page 27) by a resident.

View a map (Draft Recommendation 3, page 8) of the proposal.

Observations

The town has seen significant residential development since the current warding pattern was established. The proposals give consideration to the evolving demographics within the town boundary, highlight specific areas of community identity and cohesion and propose recommendations that maintain adequate representation on the Town Council.

The proposals highlight three possible names for the proposed new ward all of which have identifiable links to the parish. The Town Council has suggested Pantile ward which has historic links to the land on which the main residential area is built. The submission from a member of the public suggests either Desborough North (representing the geographical situation of the ward in the parish) or Desborough Grange (historically the name given to the main residential development).

The Town Council’s proposal recommends including the residential area comprising Gapstile Close and Bestwood Avenue within a revised Loatland Ward. However, this area is physically separated from the remainder of the ward by the railway line, which has also been identified as a potential boundary between Loatland Ward and the proposed new ward. Furthermore, access to these properties is via Harborough Road (B576), which falls within the Town Council’s proposed Pantile Ward, suggesting stronger geographical and community links with that area.

Draft Recommendation (Recommendation 3) - Desborough

a) That the revised warding pattern and potential ward names presented in the map attached at Appendix D be taken forward for further consultation.

Reason(s) for recommendations - A warding pattern comprising three parish wards would more accurately reflect established community identities and local interests. Such a warding pattern would also support effective and convenient local governance by providing more focused representation that aligns closely with recognised communities.

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