The Chief Executive introduced the report which set out the process the Council would need to undertake in order to create additional town and parish councils within the Borough.

The Chair invited Members to make comments, and these included:

·           Supported the creation of new parishes however, there were some areas in the Borough that did not require a parish;

·           the final decision should be led by the ‘will of the people’;

·           it was the responsibility of Ward Members to encourage residents to complete the consultation;

·           good to see the community review moving forward as it had been worked on for a number of years;

·           it was important that the right information about the review was circulated to residents to avoid any confusion;

·           it was imperative that the Steering Group considered the wide range of options available to all the areas in the Borough;

·           the Steering Group needed to be led by what residents within the individual areas wanted;

·           welcomed the opportunity for a review on which areas of the Borough needed to be included in towns or parishes as development had merged the boundary lines between towns and villages;

·           the Steering Group should be politically balanced and include all the groups;

·           requested that the Steering Group met at times when it was convenient for working Members;

·           it was clear that there was no single view on what was right for each area of the Borough, so it was important the document referenced that the decision would be led by what the public wanted; and

·           the Steering Group needed to circulate clear and accurate information to the residents of Swale to keep them informed about what was being proposed.

Councillor Angela Harrison commented on the wording of recommendation (1) and proposed that the wording be updated to read ‘That a Community Governance Review in Swale be undertaken with the objective to extend Town or Parish Council coverage to all of Swale if that was the wish of the majority of residents within the specific areas.’ Councillor Richard Palmer seconded the proposal but suggested the removal of majority as it could cause confusion.

Members made further comments, and these included:

·           The recommendation needed to simply outline that following a public consultation a decision would be made;

·           suggested the word ‘objective’ be removed from what was already in the recommendation;

·           there were plenty of areas where the town or parish council was not working effectively so needed a clear steer from the public;

·           the Terms of Reference (TOR) was not clear in setting out what options the Steering Group would be able to review; and

·           was there a reason why community councils were not an option?

The Chief Executive responded to points raised and said that it was clear there was no single view as to the specific areas that needed the review. However, the consultation was an opportunity for a review to take place and for the Steering Group to view all available options for the specific areas. She added that the TOR were created as a starting point and that at the first meeting of the Steering Group there would be a list of options to review and then decide what areas were currently operating effectively and what areas needed a further review. One of the options would be to explore the possibility of community councils in certain areas.

With regard to when the Steering Group would meet, the Chief Executive said that she had spoken to the Local Government Reform Project Officer and agreed that the meetings would be held in the evening, but would be led by the Steering Group as to the times and dates that suited them.

In response to the change of wording for recommendation (1), the Chief Executive suggested that the recommendation be changed to ‘That the Policy and Resources Committee recommends to Full Council that a Community Governance Review be undertaken’.

Councillor Angela Harrison agreed to the change of wording as set out by the Chief Executive and this was seconded by Councillor Richard Palmer. On being put to the vote, it was agreed.

Councillor Ben J Martin proposed that the Steering Group be politically balanced with two members from Labour, Conservatives and SIA, one member each from Liberal Democrats, Reform and Green, plus the unaligned Independent Member. This was seconded by Councillor Charles Gibson and on being put to the vote, it was agreed.

Recommended:

(1)   That the Policy and Resources Committee recommends to Full Council that a Community Governance Review be undertaken.

(2)   That the political configuration of the Steering Group be two members from Labour, Conversative and SIA groups, one member each from Liberal Democrats, Reform and Green group, plus the unaligned Independent Member.

(3)   That the draft Terms of Reference as shown in appendix B of the report be noted and these not go to Full Council until the areas covered by the Community Governance Review had been agreed by the Steering Group.