To consider report LDS/171 of the Head of Legal, Governance and HR.

The Committee considered report LDS/171 of the Head of Legal, Governance and HR which requested that the Committee consider the outcome of the temporary changes to the Scheme of Polling Places made for the elections held on 6 May 2021 and decide whether to make any changes to the existing Scheme (adopted in 2019) either on a permanent or temporary (one year) basis.  In making its decision the Committee were requested to consider whether to extend the temporary replacement of schools for a further year.

The Electoral Services Manager presented the report and drew the Committee’s attention to the Supplementary Agenda which provided amended 2021 electorate figures for some Polling Districts.

To assist in the Committee’s consideration, the Chair advised that they intended to move recommendation d) of paragraph 5.1 of the report as it gave the Committee the opportunity to vote on all possible permutations.  In light of this, debate and voting on each Polling District took place in turn.  The Polling Districts, as well as the normal Polling Place and the Polling Place used for the May 2021 elections, were set out in Paragraph 4.4 of the report.

General Comments:

It was acknowledged that a public poll had indicated that the public experience of the May 2021 election had been good and the Committee thanked the Elections staff for the work they had undertaken.

Following a query from a Committee Member, it was acknowledged that any suggestion to merge Polling Districts would need to be brought before a future Committee meeting to ensure the Committee had sufficient information and time to consider such a proposal.

It was suggested that having several Polling Places within an Electoral Ward reduced the number of people queuing to vote.   It was also stated that keeping some consistency in Polling Places encouraged voter turnout.

Several Committee Members expressed the view that the temporary replacement of all schools identified in Paragraph 4.4 of the report should be extended for another year to avoid any further disruption in children’s education.

Polling District LAB (Bewbush & North Broadfield Ward):

It was suggested that Broadfield Community Centre had worked well as a combined Polling Place for Polling Districts LAB, LBB and LEB during the May 2021 election.  However, the view was also expressed that, given the large combined electorate of those three Polling Districts, having a single Polling Place for all three Polling Districts could cause capacity issues, especially during a general election.

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LAB should be Broadfield Community Centre on a permanent basis.

Polling District LBB (Broadfield Ward):

It was acknowledged that the comments made with regard to Polling District LAB above were also relevant for Polling District LBB.

Following a query from the Committee, the Electoral Services Manager confirmed that although Community Services had advised that Creasys Drive Adventure Playground might be available to use as a Polling Place for the May 2022 election, its availability could not be guaranteed.

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LBB should be Broadfield Community Centre on a permanent basis.

Polling District LEB (Gossops Green & North East Broadfield Ward):

It was acknowledged that the comments made with regard to Polling District LAB above were also relevant for Polling District LEB.

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LEB should be Broadfield Community Centre on a permanent basis.

Polling District LJA (Pound Hill North & Forge Wood Ward):

It was stressed that the Committee had originally agreed that Milton Mount Community Centre be used as a Polling Place on a temporary basis.  Several Committee Members stated that, as Milton Mount Community Centre was situated at the top of a hill, it was less accessible to the elderly and it was noted that notices close to the Community Centre discouraged parking in the area.  It was suggested that the Polling Place should revert back to The Grattons Indoors Bowls Club as its location was more central and it had better parking provisions.

The Committee was advised that elector turnout had increased by 5.8% for the May 2021 election across all methods of voting when Milton Mount Community Centre was the Polling Place.  Following a related query from a Committee Member it was noted that the 5.8% increase was a 3% increase in in-person voting and an 11% increase in postal voting.  It was suggested that those figures implied that the location of Milton Mount Community Centre had not deterred voters from voting in-person.

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LJA should revert back to The Grattons Indoors Bowls Club.

Polling District LFB (Ifield Ward):

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LFB should be Ifield Community Centre on a one year temporary basis.

Polling District LFD (Ifield Ward):

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LFD should be Ifield West Community Centre on a one year temporary basis.

Polling District LHB (Maidenbower Ward):

The opinion was expressed that whilst using Maidenbower Community Centre for both Polling Districts LHA and LHB could cause long queues during peak times, it was likely that those queues would be manageable for local Borough elections, but could cause long queues for General elections.

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LHB should be Maidenbower Community Centre on a one year temporary basis.

Polling District LJC (Pound Hill North & Forge Wood Ward):

The Committee was reminded that the use of Forge Wood Primary School as a Polling Place had originally been agreed as a temporary measure whilst Forge Wood Community Centre (which would become the permanent Polling Place) was under construction.  Disappointment was expressed by the Committee that the timescale set out for completing the Community Centre development had not been met.

Following a vote by the Committee it was declared that the Polling Place for Polling District LJC should be Wakehams Green Community Centre on a one year temporary basis.

With the voting concluded on the Polling Place for each individual Polling District the Committee agreed that the Full Council be recommended to amend the 2019 Polling Scheme to incorporate the changes agreed by the Committee.

RESOLVED

That the Full Council be recommended to amend the 2019 Polling Scheme as set out in the Appendix to these minutes.