CUDDESDON AND DENTON PARISH COUNCIL

COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW

APPLICATION FOR THE AMALGAMATION OF THE WARDS OF CUDDESDON AND DENTON INTO A SINGLE WARD

18th January 2021

1        This document is an application by Cuddesdon and Denton Parish Council for the two wards of Cuddesdon and Denton to be combined into a single ward, which will have the boundaries of the present parish.

2        The Parish of Cuddesdon and Denton consists of the two adjacent settlements of Cuddesdon and Denton. The two settlements abut one another and form a single integrated community.

3        The Parish was formed in 1962 by the joining of the two parishes of Cuddesdon and Denton. Previously Cuddesdon had its own parish council and Denton had a parish meeting.

4        When the Parish of Cuddesdon and Denton was formed, there were two wards, with Cuddesdon represented by five parish councillors and Denton represented by two. That situation has continued to the present day.

5        It is a historical anomaly that there are two wards, which only arose because of the way the Parish was formed.

6        As it stands, councillors theoretically only represent the electors from their ward. If the wards were combined then all the councillors would represent all the parishioners.

7        Combining the wards will simplify the election process for SODC and halve the expenses for the Parish Council, whether there is an election or not.

8        Electors will be able to vote for their preferred candidates from the whole community rather than just those from their local ward.

9        Candidates will no longer have to decide which ward they should stand in, in order to optimise their chances of becoming a councillor. On occasions in the past, candidates have stood in the ward in which they do not live if they have considered that insufficient candidates are likely to stand in that ward to make an election necessary.

10      With the present arrangement there is the possibility that three candidates could stand in Denton, requiring an election. At the same time there might be fewer than five candidates in Cuddesdon meaning that an election is needlessly held.

11      There are no other parishes in Oxfordshire of comparable size to Cuddesdon and Denton with more than one ward.

12      The Parish Council considers it important that there continue to be a total of seven councillors, so the parishioners are properly represented.

13      The Parish Council would like to reserve the right to withdraw this request, depending on SODC’s proposal for the amalgamation, particularly with regard to the total number of councillors for the new ward. Withdrawal of the request will also depend on views expressed by parishioners concerning the change.

M J MOUNT

Parish Clerk