Agenda item

The Chairperson introduced the report, highlighting the potential implications of local government reorganisation and the need to explore establishing a town council for central Winchester.

Following the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement on local government reorganisation, the Forum recognised this could lead to the amalgamation of districts and a target population of around 500,000 people.

The impact of this could mean that the City of Winchester may find that decisions relating to important local matters could be made by an authority located between 20-50 miles away.

The forum discussed the need to ensure that the residents of the city have a voice and that local decision-making was retained.

The Forum agreed that a request be made to the Winchester City Council to consider a community governance review and proceeded to ask questions and comment on the following matters which were responded to by the Chairperson and the Strategic Director.

(a)       Councillor Scott asked about who would undertake the review. It was     noted that the Licensing and Regulation Committee agreed the scope of the review and that this could be resourced by either consultants or existing staff. The review would take 12 months to complete, and it was      considered this review would be more complex than the review of North Whiteley.

(b)       There was a discussion about ensuring that the Town Forum has input           into the review process and that local community leaders and   representatives participate.

(c)       It was emphasised that the process needs to prioritize residents' views.           An informal working group of the town forum was suggested.

(d)       It was noted that the decision on the review will be taken by the Full          Council.

(e)       The Strategic Director outlined a possible timetable for a community         governance review based on the North Whiteley model with four         months of preparation and consultations and with a final decision from Full Council. It was noted that greater engagement would be needed      than in the North Whiteley review.

(f)         It was noted that any consultation would need to go out to the       residents, not just wait for them to come to the council.

(g)       There was a discussion about the need for any governance review to   focus on the simple point of whether residents want an elected town         council and also to consider what the duties of the town council would      look like.

(h)       A question about the sequencing of the review was raised, given the           uncertainty of the government's intentions for local government          reorganisation. It was noted that the decision to undertake the review      did not start the clock but that the formal publication of the terms of      reference does.

(i)         There was agreement that the Town Forum has done good service but           may be at a natural conclusion and that a review is healthy irrespective   of what the government wants.

(j)         A question about what assets would fall to any new structure and      whether that would be decided by the review was raised. It was noted         that any new authority needs to be sustainable and that the assets           need to be those that matter to the residents.

(k)       It was suggested that the 2019 Governance Review (Report WTF282)         be circulated to members.

At the conclusion of debate, the forum agreed an amendment to the recommendation to include the unparished area of Winchester.

          RESOLVED:

                     That the Town Forum agree to make a request to Winchester   City Council to consider undertaking a community governance review with a view to establishing a town council covering the unparished area       of Winchester.