Agenda item

The Civic Affairs Committee NOTED that a Community Governance Review of the Parish boundary between Willingham and Over would be undertaken in view of the required number of signatures to instigate such a review having been received and verified.

The Civic Affairs Committee considered a report which set out a request from a resident to formally review the parish boundary between Willingham and Over.

Andrew Francis, Electoral Services Manager, reported that since publication of the report a petition consisting of the required number of verified signatures to instigate a Community Governance Review for this purpose had been received.  He confirmed that the petition was valid and that the Council would now be carrying out the Community Governance Review, with the information submitted as part of the petition being taken into account as part of the review.  This Committee would consider a terms of reference for the Community Governance Review in due course.

Barry Papworth was the lead petitioner and informed Members that planning matters were not the only reason for requesting a review of this parish boundary.  He explained that residents of the village of Willingham located in the area set out in the report often experienced significant issues with accessing services such as telephone and broadband lines, as well as postal services, due to the presumption that they were already located in Willingham, when in fact they were currently in the Parish of Over.

Philip King, Vice-Chairman of Willingham Parish Council, reported that the Parish Council supported the commencement of an independent review into this matter and reflected that the boundary was very historic, being nearly 400 years ago since it had been put in place.  He said that things had changed a great deal in that time and that the residents affected believed that they belonged to Willingham rather than Over.  Supporting this statement, he added that the Parish Council therefore felt the existing boundary was not conducive to good governance and welcomed the review.

Councillor Pippa Corney, local Member, supported the views of Willingham Parish Council and agreed that there was a common perception that people were in the village of Willingham when they were in fact located in Over.  She felt that resolving this would support local businesses, improve the sustainability of Willingham and make people’s lives easier.

Councillor Ray Manning, local Member, also supported the Parish Council and said that it was difficult to establish exactly where the existing boundary was and that some of the addresses in the area of land referred to, despite officially being within the Over Parish, had Willingham postcodes or telephone numbers. 

Geoff Twiss, Vice-Chairman of Over Parish Council, referred to an email from the Clerk to Over Parish Council, as appended to the report, which sought to correct some claims in the correspondence that he said were untrue.  These related to the distance of Highgate from Over, clarifying that there had been some confusion between the parish boundary and the centre of the village, as well as a perception that Over Parish Council was negative when considering anything in respect of Highgate.  Councillor Twiss reiterated that Over Parish Council had not expressed any negativity in respect of this area and urged for the Council to reject what he called an unsound and unnecessary review.

Councillor Brian Burling, local Member, questioned the reasoning behind the request and asked why Longstanton Parish Council was not also seeking a review of its boundary.  In terms of planning matters, Councillor Burling understood that any such matters on the piece of land in question were also considered jointly by both Willingham Parish Council and Over Parish Council.  He therefore surmised that if the land became part of Willingham it would make it easier to obtain planning permission for business use which would ultimately mean more income for Willingham Parish Council through business rates.  He also questioned the validity of the petition.

Mr Francis explained that the petition very clearly set out what was being asked for and confirmed that it contained enough verified signatures in order to trigger the Council into having to conduct a Community Governance Review.  Anyone wishing to submit their views would have the opportunity to do so as part of the review.

Councillor Deborah Roberts was of the opinion that it would be wrong to go against the wishes of Over Parish Council when the land in question was under its stewardship.  She was worried about any precedent this may set as there were other such anomalies across the district. 

In answer to a question regarding the timescale for the review, it was noted that the Community Governance Review would need to be undertaken within a year of the terms of reference having been confirmed. 

Councillor Alex Riley, local Member, said that this was an issue regarding the position of residents and the fact people’s services were falling between the two villages, saying that the request had not been put forward on any other grounds. 

The Civic Affairs Committee NOTED that a Community Governance Review of the Parish boundary between Willingham and Over would be undertaken in view of the required number of signatures to instigate such a review having been received and verified.