Agenda and draft minutes

To record the names of apologies given and Deputy Members who are attending the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Cunningham as noted above.

To receive any disclosure of interests from Members or Officers in matters to be discussed.

Note: Councillors are reminded of their obligations to declare disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs), other registerable interests (ORIs) and non-registerable interests (NRIs) in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct.

Councillor Wallace declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in respect of various items on the agenda due to his role as a Hampshire County Councillor.  Councillor Pett also declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in respect of various items on the agenda due to his role on the South Downs National Park Authority.   However, as there was no material conflict of interest, they remained in the room, spoke and voted under the dispensation granted on behalf of the Audit and Governance Committee to participate and vote in all matters which might have a County Council and South Downs National Park involvement.

RESOLVED:

          That the minutes of the previous meeting held 29 September 2025 be agreed as a correct record.

To receive and note questions asked and statements made from members of the public on issues relating to the responsibility of this Committee.

Patrick Davies, Jerry Adamson and Parish Councillor Antonio De Stefano (Headbourne Worthy Parish Council) spoke during public participation regarding report LR606 and their comments are summarised under the minute below.

Councillors Cramoysan and Horrill also spoke regarding report LR606 as summarised under the minute below.

The Director (Legal) introduced the report which set out the results of the stage 1 consultation and also detailed the draft recommendations for stage 2 consultation as contained in Appendix A of the report.  He emphasised the extensive consultation undertaken with the assistance of external consultants (Public Perspectives) whose report was contained as Appendix C of the report.

Patrick Davies, Jerry Adamson and Parish councillor Antonio De Stefano (Headbourne Worthy Parish Council) spoke during public participation regarding report LR606 and their comments are summarised briefly under the minute below.

Patrick Davies

Patrick Davies spoke in opposition to the proposed Winchester Parish Council, considering the proposals to be unnecessary, time-consuming and expensive. He expressed concern about the timing of the review given the impending transition to a new unitary authority.  He also believed there had been a lack of transparency in a process with meetings being held in private.  He considered that a new parish council would possess only limited decision-making powers and recommended that the city’s historic status be instead preserved through the appointment of charter trustees.

Councillor Antonio De Stefano (HWPC Kings Barton Committee)

Councillor De Stefano requested that a new Kings Barton Parish Council should have a minimum of twelve councillors to manage the council’s workload effectively.  He requested that the boundary be adjusted to include the park and ride area, in addition to including Wellhouse Mews and extending to the Three Maids Hill roundabout.  He asked that stewardship of Barton Meadow should sit with a Kings Barton Parish Council (rather than HWPC) to maintain proper accountability.  Finally he requested that the precept should not be determined in isolation and should be through a democratic process.

Jerry Adamson

Jerry Adamson highlighted that the level of support for a new Winchester Parish  Council represented only about 1.5% of the registered electorate and suggested that the council’s recommendations were based on misinterpreted responses regarding the W4 area.  He believed the council had disregarded opposition from residents and Headbourne Worthy Parish Council regarding the transfer of land west of Courtenay Road to the proposed Winchester Parish Council. Consequently, he argued that a local referendum should be organised to democratically establish whether residents were in favour of the proposals.

The Director (Legal) responded in detail to the comments made by Councillor De Stefano and Mr Adamson.  Councillor Becker responded to the points made by Mr Davies.

At the invitation of the chairperson, Councillors Cramoysan and Horrill addressed the committee as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Cramoysan

Councillor Cramoysan noted that he was a ward councillor for The Worthys ward and the chairperson of Kings Barton Forum.  He supported the proposals to establish both a new Winchester Parish Council and a separate Kings Barton Parish Council, noting that a dedicated local tier was essential for representation within a large unitary authority.  He also welcomed the inclusion of outlying homes on Andover Road.  Additionally, he requested clarification at Stage 2 of the consultation on the boundary preferences for Wellhouse Mews and sought legal assurances regarding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.