Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S. Colella and Councillor R. Hunter.  Councillor J. King was expected as substitute for Councillor Hunter, but unfortunately was delayed and not able to attend.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

The minutes of the meeting of the Electoral Matters Committee held on 24^th October 2019 were submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Electoral Matters Committee held on 24^th October 2019 be approved as a correct record.

The Electoral Services Manager introduced the report and explained that the review which had been undertaken in 2019 had been interrupted by the calling of a General Election in December and since then a number of requests had been received in respect of changes to polling places.  These were considered individual and the ensuing discussions detailed below:

Polling District SSA/SSB currently Finstall First School

It was noted that the Head Teacher from Finstall First School was present in the public gallery and was invited to join Members at the table during the discussion. 

The Electoral Services Manager reminded Members that there had been a request from the School in recent years to no longer be used as a polling place.  Prior to the General Election the Head Teacher had been asked by the Chair of the School Governors to look at this matter again.  For obvious reasons this had not been possible due to the General Election being called, but the matter was now being considered.  The Electoral Services Manager explained that there had been a number of suggestions which had been considered, including the Rugby Club, which had proved to be unsuitable and St Godwald’s Church Hall.  Whilst the back room at the Church Hall was small, it could be used in conjunction with the main room.  However, the parking was not particularly good.  A statement from the Head Teacher had been provided to all Members of the Committee.

Following presentation of this section of the report Members discussed a number of areas in more detail:

·       The proximity of St Godwald’s Church Hall to the polling district.  It was confirmed that it was further than the School and that the Rugby Club was even further.

·       St Godwald’s were willing to accommodate the May 2020 election, which was in respect of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

·       It was suggested that as the May election would not necessarily see a large turnout, there would be an opportunity to see what the impact of holding it there would be and whether it was a viable option going forward.

The Electoral Services Manager advised that there were three options available to Members:

1.    No change.

2.    Do a short consultation to gauge people’s views on the alternatives.  However, it was noted that this would only be for 2 weeks, which was a very short time.

3.    Use St Godwald’s Church Hall for the May 2020 PCC election as a trial, canvass the views of those attending with a short questionnaire to see whether it was suitable and for the Committee to meet later in the year to make a decision.

Members asked a number of further questions before making a decision:

·       Whether Aston Fields Social Club had been considered – it was confirmed that the parking was limited, and it was further away.  New Road Methodist Hall was also suggested as an alternative and it was agreed that this would be something to consider in the future.

·       Whether any feedback had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18/19

It was confirmed that at this present time there was no need for a further meeting to be arranged.