Purpose

The Chief Executive, in consultation with the relevant ward members, has made a decision to make changes to the scheme of polling districts and polling places for Haverhill West ward and Moreton Hall ward, as set out in the attached Officer Decision Record.

Decision

At its meeting on 19 December 2023 West Suffolk Council approved the amended scheme of polling districts and polling places, as set out at Appendix A to Report number: COU/WS/23/023. They also authorised the Chief Executive, to amend the scheme of polling districts and polling places for Moreton Hall Ward and Haverhill West Ward following completion of the necessary assessments, as detailed in the Report number: COU/WS/23/023 and in consultation with relevant ward members.

In accordance with the delegation, the Chief Executive has taken the decision to approve the amended scheme of polling places with the changes set out in the attached Officer Decision Record.

Reasons for the decision

The Unity Schools Partnership Offices is not available for future use as a polling place and a change of polling place was required for W-HH-W1 Haverhill (West) 1 and W-HH-W2 Haverhill (West).

The polling district B-BE-MH2 Bury St Edmunds (Moreton Hall) 2 exceeded the Electoral Commission guidance limit of 2250 electors per polling place.

Alternative options considered

The Army Cadet Centre in Haverhill was assessed as an alternative to the Unity Schools Partnership Offices but determined as not being suitable as the increase in electorate could impact on access to the venue by car due to the single vehicle access from a busy road and limited parking.

The polling district “Bury St Edmunds (Moreton Hall) 2” could have been left unchanged and the polling district streets split alphabetically between two polling stations in the same venue. However, it was considered more appropriate to review the polling district boundaries to determine if an additional polling district may be required and to consider which polling places would be more practical based on the new boundaries.