As Promised, please find below more information on the Community Governance Review and information on Parish Councils.  I have pulled out some statement some key statements which reflect the intent of the Government and South Norfolk Council with regard to pushing decision about local issues down to the lowest levels.  It may therefor be useful if you play back some of these statements in any comments you submit for the Electoral Arrangements Committee to consider.  Obviously try to bring the statements to life with local issues.

A fact you might like to use is that our precept, which is money taken within your council tax bill and used by your current parish council, Wymondham Town Council, is currently £77.12 for a property in Council Tax Band D, whereas surrounding villages like Bunwell parish council only take £32.43 or Tacolneston take £31.30, both 50% of what we are paying.  I can guarantee though a 100% of their money is being spent on their local community, where is ours being spent?  You can access this information at the following link: https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/budget-information-and-council-tax 

House of Commons Briefing Paper – Parish & Town Councils

http://www.nalc.gov.uk/library/our-work/1864-parliamentary-briefing-paper-2/file

In Chapter 4 of this document there are some key statements on government intent for local people to decide on local issues

Both the Coalition Government and the preceding (2005-10) Labour government spoke favourably of parish and town councils. The 2006 local government white paper, Strong and prosperous communities, stated:

We will make it clear that there will be a presumption in favour of the setting up of parish councils so that local authorities will be expected to grant communities’ requests to set up new parish councils, except where there are good reasons not to, and that existing parish councils are not to be abolished against the wishes of local people.

The Coalition Government’s 2013 consultation paper on setting up new parish councils said:

We believe that localism is best achieved when it is led by the local communities themselves. We see town and parish councils as playing a vital role in helping local people to make this happen; it is for this reason we want to support those neighbourhoods who want to set up a parish council. 

Local Government Boundary Commission - Guidance on Community Governance Reviews

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/file/12546

Some of the key themes you may wish to comment on from paragraph 40 oif thisd document are:

•   a strong, inclusive community and voluntary sector

•   a sense of civic values, responsibility and pride

•   a sense of place – a place with a ‘positive’ feeling for people and local distinctiveness

•   reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area

•   effective and convenient

•   the impact of community governance arrangements on community cohesion

•   the size, population and boundaries of a local community or parish

South Norfolk Council Review Terms of Reference

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/sites/default/files/CGR%20TOR%20TL%2010.05.17.pdf

Within the South Norfolk Council aims for the governance review in paragraph 2 they tale about:

•   to improve community engagement and local democracy

•   to facilitate efficient, effective and convenient delivery of local services

Paragraph 15 goes on to state:

•   Electors should be able to identify clearly with the parish in which they are resident. This sense of identity and community lends strength and legitimacy to the parish structure, creates a common interest in parish affairs, encourages participation in elections to the parish council, leads to representative and accountable government, engenders visionary leadership, provides democratic anchorage and generates a strong, inclusive community with a sense of civic values, responsibility and pride.

•   Parishes should reflect distinctive and recognisable communities of interest, with their own sense of identity. The feeling of local community and the wishes of local inhabitants are primary considerations in this Review.

•   The Council will consider changes that have happened over time (through population shifts or additional development for example) and which have led to a different community identity and historic traditions in an area.

•   The Government’s Guidance is that community cohesion should be taken into account in this Review. The Government also expects to see a trend in the creation, rather than abolition, of parishes, and believes that the abolition of parishes should not be undertaken unless justified and clearly supported.

Current Electoral Boundaries Map

An interactive map that you can select parish Boundaries on through a menu on the left-hand side of the web page.

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/

Current South Norfolk Council Sizes and Electorate Totals

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/file/13596

Thank you, Stephen, for this information.  It is good to see that what we want for Spooner Row is the same as that promoted by the House of Commons Briefing Paper and the South Norfolk Council Review Terms of Reference, particularly the statement made in Paragraph 15. For the Government and Authorities wanting to see a trend in the creation of parishes is exactly where we are now. Many of us want what is being promoted in terms of greater local democracy, reflecting our local community and identity (rather than be part of the Wymondham urban sprawl) and keeping our local historic traditions (maybe we can try and keep the signal box), I could go on.  Things are looking a lot more positive for Spooner Row, it would be a very welcome outcome to be more like other village parishes with the benefits this creates, and to top this, the precept would not be so high with our money spent on us to benefit our local community.

Suggested reasons

• do not feel adequately represented
• village but pay town rates
• information on key decisions not being passed down to all. We do not all have th Internet or want computers
• feel our district Councillor is not adequately representing the village 
• we have no local voice

Being part of Wymondham Town Council parish for many years hasn't really bothered me, only the high town precept for a village is the only issue. But I have been trying to think of the benefits of staying part of Wymondham now that it is growing so big with massive housing developments, but I can't really think of any. Does anyone else have any benefits of staying under Wymondham rather than being an independent community village parish? Everything that is listed above is a big improvement on what we have now.

We have been getting great feedback from the residents of Spooner Row and Wattlefield with regard to the idea of creating our own community council and removing ourselves from the umbrella of Wymondham Town Council.

Over the next few days residents of Suton will start to see a few of us knocking on doors and asking for opinions.

Please feel free to review the comments from earlier threads on this message board.

If anyone from Suton wishes to get involved, please give me a call on 01953 607741 or reply via the message board.

Clicking on the links above, it looks like our Constituency is changing back from Mid Norfolk to South Norfolk,  https://www.bce2018.org.uk/node/6484?postcode=NR189LG

As Spooner Row is very close and next door to Breckland District Council could this not be an opportunity to move away from South Norfolk District Council and go with Breckland?  This will take Spooner Row out of the Norwich Policy Area (NPA) as a Norwich Service Village which South Norfolk District Council did without our knowledge and will eventually turn us into a dormitory village.  It will take us out of the up-and-coming Greater Norwich Development Plan, which I have always thought was a bit stupid as we are miles from Norwich.  There are no future plans at all for increasing the pitiful train service at Spooner Row and will consequently mean a huge increase in car use.  Wymondham is already suffering long traffic hold-ups at certain times of days with long queues at the A11/Wymondham roundabout as just one example of how things are going. 

As Spooner Row's Constituency boundary is changing and hopefully the Parish boundary will be changing too is this not a good time to change the District Council boundary also? Would people prefer to change to be part of Breckland District Council instead in the hope that it may mitigate the problems that are being imposed on the village? I consider that South Norfolk's lack of a 5 year housing land supply resulting in over-development and lack of councillor representation is not in the interests of Spooner Row.  Breckland District Council DOES HAVE a 5 year housing land supply and is updated regularly resulting in controlled, thought-out, sympathetic development.  Do a GOOGLE search on 'Breckland district council and 5 year housing land supply' and you will see all the documents and statements Breckland has published which are regularly updated and puts them in a position to better serve their elected community. 

Who were these "consultants" brought in by council bosses? With this vast amount of housing development they recommend, I hope they have catered for a new hospital, cause the current one can't cope now. I wonder what housing options they will choose at their meeting tomorrow? It seems a strange time to do this housing assessment with the current Boundary Review in progress.

If they develop between Silfield and Spooner Row, then that would also involve Wattlefield for development. 

Read the public comments at the bottom of this EDP article:  http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/politics/new-village-for-norfolk-mooted-as-council-leaders-look-to-find-sites-for-nearly-9-000-new-homes-1-5072526

Sorry chaps but the likelihood of Spooner row moving to Breckland is my view is absolute zero and this is serving as a distraction. The Boundary commission who deal with such things has just completed a review of District and Parliamentary boundaries and any suggestion that they have got it wrong or it  needs changing is regarded as something you get on the bottom of your shoe. 

They also have political masters , although they will deny this and their real driver is numbers. Same number for each division, ward etc even though pointing out to them that these things change on account of plainly idiotic planning decisions usually achieves the same response as previously as does pointing out that dense urban sprawl and well laid out ribbon development villages inevitably means a much larger geographical area to get the same number and the needs of these two are often as not, completely different.

New house sites have been rumbling on for sometime now and they will get approved because the councillors who vote for them will approve anything that is not on their patch. Wattlefield town is a new one on me and blatantly they do not have a clue where the Station is, so do not be fooled. This a Spooner row town in the making and every bit of green space you can see from the Station and some you cannot be will be ear marked for housing even the the CPRE are violently opposed to this.

Setting up a new Council may help control the where and when and may ensure the monies from these developments are spent in the village. We need to take ownership  and this is what it is all about. 

Just over 2 weeks left to make your views known - deadline for comment is Wednesday 12 July 2017

As I have been talking to people about the governance review some have asked about how a parish council can influence planning applications.  One way is for our community to write a neighbourhood plan.  More information on what a neighbourhood plan is and how it can be used to influence local planning authorities can be accessed at the following link:

http://mycommunity.org.uk/take-action/neighbourhood-planning/

The lead on canvassing opinion and coordinating the writing of a plan which takes in to consideration our communitires views and needs could be undertaken by a parish council.

The following link is to the Wymondham Town development plan:

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Wymondham_Area_Action_Plan_1.pdf

Note the the following text within the document, which states our communities are not considered within our current (Wymondham Town) parish council's plan:

I am very confused about what you are asking to be set up. Is it a full blown Parish Council or just a community council. If you are proposing a full blown Parish Council where are the costings of such a move. How much will you Clerk cost, what is your proposed income and expenditure budget and will you loose any grants from currently been the larger WTC. Surely people should be told the cost of such a proposal now.

Thank you for your post.

The proposal is to set up a Parish council which is the lowest level of government. If South Norfolk agree to us establishing a parish council we would be the same legal enitity as Wymondham Town Council, with the same legal rights and responsibilities.  Further information on this can be accessed through the following link, and also via the link in my first post to the House of Commons briefing paper:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/contents

In terms of funding, this comes from the same source as Wymondham Town Council, which is the precept on our council tax.  This is where all Town or Parish councils, which are the same things but just with different names, secure their income from.  This is how a parish clerk would be paid for. Unlike Wymondham though our parish would not require a full time clerk.  Many parish councils share a clerk and pay a percentage of their full time wage; this secures a proffessional clerk at reduced costs.

I hope this answers your questions. In, terms of the detail on the budget this is something that would occur at a much later stage of the process we are in.  At the moment this is an early consultation stage to see what people want.  When a parish council is formed, a budget is proposed and agreed, which should be undertaken with our communities input.  At the basic level though I would expect our precept, income, to be no more than it currently is and should be less as is the case with our surrounding communities.

At this stage, this is a review on local opinion, it is not a proposal. If you are a local resident then please include your views and any concerns on the SNC's Community Governance Review on-line survey.  Everyone is entitled to have their say whether they support an independent parish or to stay part of Wymondham. 

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/communitygovernancereview1/ 

Anonymous, if you have previous experience of running a parish council or putting a proposal forward can you share some of your experience with us, for example the cost of insurance and the cost of a parish clerk if they were employed full time.  This information would be useful to assist others in our community to understand the counter perspective.

I am also interested to understand further your point on increased burial costs and the additional funding you believe WTC has access to.  As you state these are all valid points which we all need to understand.

Further to my last post it looks like Forncett pay their clerk £267 per month and their insurance cost is £273.75 per annum.  This totals approximately £3,500 per annum, which equates to a precept of £16.02 per household for 200 properties.  This could leave £61.10 per household to be spent on local issues, or a total of £12,220 per annum if we remained paying the same level we currently do to WTC.

Just over a week left to make your views known to South Norfolk Council.

Please make your neighbours aware of the Boundary Review and the information available on this message board.  Also, please encourage your neighbours to fill in either the online survey or one of the paper forms we have given out to residents or posted through doors; this is a great opportunity and we would not want to miss out to due to lack of communication and engagement.

Remember every electorate gets a say, so everyone 18 and over can input on the survey, write a letter to South Norfolk Council or return a form to either myself or Robert. We can be contacted as follows:

     Stephen Ward, Tel: 07767 777 488

     Robert Foster, Tel: 07748 300 820

Thanks also you to everybody who came over and chatted to us at the Village Hall Fete on Sunday. Everyone we spoke to were enthusiastic and supportive of a change in order to generate more community spirit and ultimately keen to make a difference to the community we all live in.  I was particularly taken by the number of people who had previously served on Parish Councils in other villages in Norfolk, or from further afield who saw the benefit that could be realised in our area.

I am unable to read those links, both websites must be down. I have been trying for several hours.

Thank you to all of those who attended the village fete and stopped by for a chat with Stephen and myself.

We received further positive feedback from the residents of Spooner Row, Suton and Wattlefield AND surprisingly, a number of individuals from outside of the DT1 catchment area who also asked to be included!

We are now in the final few days of consultation and if you have not yet had someone knock on your door, please let me know.  If you still have a proposal form sitting on the kitchen table please complete it and then txt me on 07748 300820 and I (or one of the group) will make arrangements to collect it.  Alternatively, if you would rather complete online the link is;

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/communitygovernancereview1

Every opinion counts!

Karen wrote:

---

Looking at a web link posted on 17th June "Current South Norfolk Council Sizes and Electorate Totals"  it shows how many Councillors support each Parish/Ward in South Norfolk.  Cromwells Ward which includes Spooner Row, Wattlefield, Suton and Silfield have just 3 Councillors supporting a total electorate of 2,149 and set to grow to 3,697.  In comparison with other Village Parishes close by; Morley who has only 437 electorates with 7 Councillors looking after its interests, Bunwell 866 with 9 Councillors, and Tacolneston 662 with 7 Councillors. Comparing these facts and figures, we are under-represented with the current arrangements at Wymondham Town Council. These figures provide another good reason to become a Village Parish to gain better representation.  Here is the web link: https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Appendix%20B.pdf

At a recent WTC/Parish sub-committee meeting it was evident that most of the influence and discussion on a Spooner Row issue was made by the District Councillors present (there was input also from the public).  Other Parish Councillors present on that sub-committee said very little if anything at all and none of them were from Cromwells Ward to represent Spooner Row.  This is not in the spirit of 21st-century Localism which the Government promotes and supports under its Localism Act.  Spooner Row needs better and fairer local representation than it is receiving now especially with the changes proposed for this area.

I note that the Government supports the creation of new local parish councils.

 

---

We are becoming well aware now of how Wymondham Town Council is controlled by South Norfolk Council, including their un-elected planners. This needs some investigation. I personally want out of this and we need our own parish so we can represent ourselves and have control over how our village ''develops' and in a way we would like that is condusive as to why we moved to a village like Spooner Row int he first place.

As far as representation, we only have one, that is Julian Halls who engages and takes an interest.

A previous poster mentioned that the burial fees are higher for parishes who are outside the Wymondham cemetery zone. In the interest of openness, Wymondham's website shows that residents get 75% discount on all costs:

http://wymondhamtc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/2011/03/28/cemetery/

 -- Edited by webstation on Friday 11th of August 2017 09:51:42 AM

In reply, SNDC had originally stated 2 weeks as the review period but when I took the paper returns in Julia Tovey-Galey (Electoral Services Manager at South Norfolk Council) did say that she had had 30 areas request reviews and that this was far greater than they had expected, so a slightly longer review may be necessary.

I had expected a call from Julia after the electoral reform committee had met on the 17th of July but it must have slipped her mind, so I left it to her.

With us entering week 3 this week, I started chasing Julia and left another message for her today.  I will update the Message Board with her thoughts once received.

Well done and thank you for organizing this. Let's hope we get our independence soon. 

What is the difference between a parish council and a community council?

  "The next stage is for South Norfolk Council, via their Electoral Arrangements Review Committee, to consider the draft proposals and this will occur at a meeting in their offices at Swan Lane on 15^th August 2017 at 2pm.  We will be present at this meeting."

 Is this meeting open to anyone?

Sorry Julian, what is the difference between your posts and the one on the 13th?

(The post on the 13th said 25% and has been amended to read 75%. Webstation) 

-- Edited by webstation on Saturday 12th of August 2017 02:08:21 AM

is the electoral arrangements review meeting on the 15 August open to the public? 

Good news, we are posting this message live from South Norfolk District Council Offices, where we have just represented your majority view (Backed up by over 300 submissions from you for a break away from Wymondham Town Council).  The committee voted unanimously to put forward to the second stage of consultation for the establishment of a parish/community council for Sutton, Wattlefield and Spooner Row based upon the DT boundary.  Second stage of the consultation starts on 31 August. It is imperative that we continue to make our case.

Well done though for making your voices heard and getting past this hurdle.

Please make your neighbours aware as not everybody is connected to the internet.

(Edited as requested, Webstation)

-- Edited by webstation on Thursday 17th of August 2017 02:03:54 AM

Sorry about my spelling in the last message, it was typed very quickly whilst connected to South Norfolk District Council’s wi-if in the committee room at the end of the meeting.

The results of the first round of community engagement can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/boundary-and-polling-station-reviews#open

The 102 electronic submissions everyone input through the online survey are contained within a spreadsheet under the heading:   Residents Survey Responses

We managed as a community to also submit a further 214 paper returns which can be viewed under the heading:   214 Additional Responses

The Draft recommendations that were discussed at the South Norfolk Council Electoral Arrangements Committee held on Tuesday 15 August can be accessed through the meeting Agenda.  Our proposal is in line 127 of the table on the last page of the Agenda:

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Electoral-Arrangements-Review-Committee-Agenda-15-August-2017.pdf

Page 9 of Appendix 1 to the Agenda has the proposed new boundary:

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/sites/default/files/earc2016-11-23-minutes.pdf

As a community we submitted 316 returns from an electorate total of  529, so a 58% return.  Noting that we didn't manage to talk to everyone in the time available for the first consultation and some houses were empty the actual return is probably nearer 70%.  Overall only 8 people said no to the proposed change.

Myself and Robert had a small speaking part at the meeting, where we stressed the strength of feeling that we picked up from everybody we talked to.  We also ensured that a representation from a Wymondham Town Councillor that the Draft recommendation as stated in the Agenda should not be considered until post the second consultation period was quashed and remains as stated.  Following a counter representation by the Mayor of Wymondham and post the committee’s discussion, where we answered some questions and put forward some further points of clarification, the committee voted unanimously to put the following Draft proposal forward to the second round of consultation:

1. Recommend that Spooner Row, Wattlefield and Suton be separated from Wymondham Town Council and a community council be formed (as per map, which was the DT1 area).

We also requested a boundary change in the Northeast boundary to take in Sallowfield and Manor Farm Cottages.  With the boundary following the river/ditch form the A11 East to the junction of Wattlefield and Silfield Roads; this suggestion was taken as sensible.

(Amended 329 to 529, Webstation)

-- Edited by webstation on Tuesday 5th of September 2017 02:14:07 AM

Thank you to all of those involved in this process.👍🏻

The Parish Governance Review link:  https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/CGReview

Wymondham Town Council notice from the Mayor

'Due to the significance of this matter, it is intended that the Council facilitates a number of 'drop-in' sessions so that residents may further understand the process of self-governance and have the information available to respond, if they wish, to the second consultation. These sessions will be advertised in 'About Wymondham', due to be distributed at the end of September. The sessions are planned to take place in Spooner Row on Friday, 6th October from 1900 to 2100 and Saturday, 7th October from 1000 to 1200, both at Spooner Row Church, (next to the cross-roads). Sessions will be held at Wymondham Town Council offices in the week 2nd to 6th October during opening hours.'

We hope to have a number of councillors attending so any questions can be asked

I will be attending all friday night and for a short period on the saturday morning

About Wymondham , which you should have or will shortly be receiving on page 2 brings to your attention the open meetings where questions can be asked about this process in the Spooner row Church on friday 6th at 7 - 9 pm and Saturday morning 7th  at 10 - 12

please do attend if you have concerns or further questions

Wymondham Town Council has published a letter on their website addressed to all Spooner Row residents about the proposed new parish. Please read and submit your views to be included in this public consultation.

http://wymondhamtc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/category/spooner-row/

The proposed new parish is also on Wymondham Town Council's Agenda for their meeting on Tuesday 10 October 2017 at 7.30pm at the Tiffey Room, Central Hall. Members of the public are allowed to speak if you want to have your say.

http://wymondhamtc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/category/meetings/agendas/wymondham-town-council-agendas/

"If you send comments via Wymondham Town Council they may only be summarised in to a Wymondham Town Council submission"

Surely Wymondham Town Council will forward the individual replies it receives to South Norfolk?

I received a letter today from Wymondham Town Council asking for comments and a tick box form on whether to support the new parish. The letter includes information saying the new parish will still be linked with 'South Wymondham' for our District Council representation. Would it not be better to have a clean break with Wymondham Town and have our own district councillor, as I fear it will be more of the same situation of being ignored no matter what the local concerns are and serving the party politics of the District Council. I want to get away from this.

Thank you for this Julian.

As income will only be generated from the precept, hopefully, the Section 106 CIL funding that has already been paid by the developer to the council will be transferred to the new parish to benefit the new parish community. After all, we will be taking lots of new houses and it is only fair that we receive the income from this.

I have just spotted on the South Norfolk Website that they have now set up another  online survey for the second round of consultation at the following link:

online survey

Or under the heading ‘Second Phase of the Consultation open 31st August to 27th October’ at the following link:

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/CGReview

If Wymondham Town Council wants its forms back by Tuesday 10 October (tomorrow) then they should have put that in their letter. I only received my letter a few days ago and there's nothing about WTC's deadline and meeting, only the deadline at the end of the month.  This isn't enough notice for residents to reply and gives insufficient time to respond for Tuesday's meeting! This is not helpful. 

Anonymous wrote:

---

If Wymondham Town Council wants its forms back by Tuesday 10 October (tomorrow) then they should have put that in their letter. I only received my letter a few days ago and there's nothing about WTC's deadline and meeting, only the deadline at the end of the month.  This isn't enough notice for residents to reply and gives insufficient time to respond for Tuesday's meeting! This is not helpful. 

---

Agreed.  Also, whoever delivered the local letters caught me when my mind was full of other things and there was nothing in the letter about the drop-ins so we missed that boat too!

We e-mailed our support (address provided on the letter).

That is really impressive. When driving through Bunwell compared to Spooner Row, you can see Bunwell is better managed.  I can't wait to become a village parish.  There is just so much support for this locally.

Wymondham Town Council (WTC) held a meeting Tuesday evening to debate and propose a response to the 2nd round of consultation for South Norfolk Council‘s Electoral Arrangements Review Committee (EARC).  The prepared response which was debated can be viewed in the image below or link at the foot of this message.  Post a debate, predominantly dominated by Lee Hornby, WTC voted unanimously to approve the statement for submission and to go against the majority of 308 residents who put forward the proposal to split in the first round of consultation.

The crux of their argument against, was the reported opinion of a number of residents in Suton who are against the proposal. No evidence of this was provided other than reported conversation and some broad comments on the limited response they had received from their recently delivered letter.

It is therefore very important that if the majority of residents agree or disagree with the WTC position that they lodge their views direct with South Norfolk Council’s EARC via the following link: online survey

The survey can also be accessed under the heading ‘Second Phase of the Consultation open 31st August to 27th October’ at the following link:

https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/CGReview

If anybody in Suton wishes to get involved in spreading this information then please contact either myself or Robert:

Stephen Ward 07767 777 488     Robert Foster 07743 300 820

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOWTauMCQkuGdoCXNIolnz1_QmjAw0aYyAL_0dhbkHBUVFROD20bmyZr5NHxzTbxA/photo/AF1QipN51NXDEOFYMTBOmYzGAQOF0j_XW6ZpOVOTDL75?key=RkpFREVIRl9NbjMtMncxZzRtOU5KTnd5ZFpPOUxB

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOWTauMCQkuGdoCXNIolnz1_QmjAw0aYyAL_0dhbkHBUVFROD20bmyZr5NHxzTbxA?key=RkpFREVIRl9NbjMtMncxZzRtOU5KTnd5ZFpPOUxB

-- Edited by webstation on Tuesday 17th of October 2017 11:11:43 PM

Looking at what happened at the meeting and Stephen's link, hasn't Wymondham TC overreacted? They have recommended an expensive referendum. Getting this in proportion, Spooner Row, as a group of local people, is applying to manage themselves under an electoral boundary review. Spooner Row is already a separate village. A change in boundary lines is quite common at reviews. Why is Wymondham TC acting so unreasonably and grasping? It isn't really anything to do with other people who do not live here. Is there another agenda behind the scenes, such as lots of money to be made from developers?

About 15 years ago, Wymondham TC held one of its committee meetings at the village hall. This was to discuss with local people about establishing a new parish if they wanted it. Does anyone remember this? Wymondham TC back then, offered the information in an open, honest, helpful, reasonable manner. Some locals had views, others didn't. We all had a grown-up discussion and most were happy with the status quo. There was none of this controlling, oppressive and unreasonable behaviour from the Town Council.  What has happened to Wymondham TC? It is such a shame it has changed so much since then in its unhelpful attitude towards its residents. Perhaps we should all individually write to the Ombudsman about this?

The Public Consultation organised by Wymondham TC is obviously a farce. To run it over a four day period, two of which was the weekend is unreasonable and without providing a deadline.  This must be considered invalid. Where and when are the results and the circumstance in which it was organised going to be published as Wymondham TC has presented a dubious and vague result in its submitted Statement to the S. Norfolk Council's Electoral Arrangement Review Committee? This farcical result will be considered seriously. Freedom of Information request, anyone?

Well, an enjoyable few hours spent in Suton yesterday and as per the first consultation, the feedback that Stephen and myself received from residents was overwhelmingly positive.  I had to sit on my hands during the Wymondham Town Council meeting last Tuesday and listen to Clr Lee Hornby paint a dire picture of the responses that he had encountered in Suton, so yesterday we knocked on doors to see if such a change in sentiment was true.  

Far from splitting communities apart, we are wanting a local council that will bring communities together.

And as for WTC's call for a referendum, South Norfolk's rough estimate of cost for this is £5,000.  That is £5k of tax payer money to push against a proposal that in its first round saw 308 residents for and 8 against.   

If you have not already responded to the second consultation, can I please urge you to following the link below to the South Norfolk Council website and give your opinion.  We want to hear from every resident. 

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/Parish/

We knocked on every door in Suton yesterday between 1100 and 1700 hrs, apart for a few houses on London Rd which Robert will do this week.  We either Spoke to people explaining the situation with Wymondham Town Council’s WTC decision or dropped yet another leaflet through their doors if they were not in.  The leaflet contained the WTC text published along with explaining that everyone has one last chance to have their say direct through the South Norfolk Electoral Arrangements Commit survey.  Everyone was made aware that they only had until Friday 27 Octover to submit their views.  As Robert has said above, we only found 2 properties who expressed a definite view against splitting and they were on the boundary with Morley.

To be clear here

The vote for WTC  to reject the proposal to split away was passed unanamously by those councillors who were present and did not include me. Several  were missing apparently

I also have to point out that there is a proposal to split away those on the London road and Suton from the new parish area ( any property WEST of the the A11 ) based on the apparently erroneous suggestion of very few people that there is  strong support for WTC. 

Whilst this may not happen or be accepted by the Boundary commission it does beg the question as to who will be representing them on WTC and if they think it will improve communication I would fascinated as to know how.

There is no implied critiscism of comments made previously by others, and is being made just in case someone thinks what on earth was I doing voting for this. I was on holiday sadly, as it might have given some balance to proceedings which were by all accounts somewhat skewed to say the least.

Please make your thoughts known to South Norfolk, NOT WTC as that consultation has passed us by and just because you commented previously it is apparent that there are some who are keen to blatantly ignore the previous results as they do not sit well in my humble and personal opinion, with the spin that the Tory run WTC and South Norfolk are doing a wonderful job.

Wymondham Town Council (WTC) held a meeting Tuesday  evening to debate and propose a response to the 2nd round of consultation for South Norfolk Council‘s Electoral Arrangements Review Committee (EARC).   Post a debate, predominantly dominated by Lee Hornby, WTC voted unanimously to approve the statement for submission and to go against the majority of 308 residents who put forward the proposal to split in the first round of consultation. 

It is therefore very important that if the majority of residents  agree or disagree with the WTC position that they lodge their views direct with South Norfolk Council’s EARC via the following link: online survey. 

E mail sent today to WTC

Dear All

 As a councillor I am told that I need to win friends and influence people.

 Today is not one of those days and I suspect there will be many who are upset by my following remarks on this process

 I make no apologies for this and yes one could argue ‘sour grapes ‘ and ‘too late anyway’ with smug faces all round

 Is this really the way we as a Council should be acting?

• The document left on the public chairs of the town Council meeting, the response to the EARC is to be frank disingenuous and wrong and was forwarded to us all on the Monday before the Council meeting . I was preparing to leave to go on holiday so did not get this until my return. See below

• It gave no details of the numbers of responses to the WTC consultation and it conveniently avoided mentioning that 308 of the 316 responses were in favour of the move. A 60 % response rate. It went onto say that the results of the WTC were evenly split . That is not the case

• The WTC consultation actually gave up 105 responses, 67 are in favour of a breakaway and 38 are against. No neutral forms. This is a response rate of at best 21%

• This is not a 50/50 split as reported this is 64% in favour and 36% against, so was inaccurate to say the least

• There is no apparent evidence in terms of numbers given to suggest ‘strong ‘ support from Suton to remain and it is also apparent that the WTC has not asked the residents of Suton about a boundary amendment to retain them within the WTC remit, or that it has discussed with them the consequences of that decision.

• May I remind you that in the first survey, 308 persons of the 316 who responded , a whopping 97% were in favour of Spooner row Wattlefield and Suton forming their own Community council.

• The suggestion to ask the wider audience of Wymondham via a referendum to comment upon this split is like asking Spain to say whether they think Catalonia is being well managed by Spain. To attempt to deny those residents who feel disenfranchised as it is, a view on how they want to be governed in future is clearly wrong. Most of Wymondham do not know where Spooner row is and probably do not give a single thought or want to give a view as to this process. I cannot say I blame them. I have to say however that in my view this suggestion is a complete waste of time and money. What happens if say 20% of Wymondham object to this move? Do we simply ignore the residents of Spooner Row et al? As asking the question of those affected is the whole point of a Governance review, to suggest a referendum is entirely disingenuous, portraying it to be a democratic exercise which in fact completely undermines the process.

• The cost for this referendum will be in the region of £5000 and I suspect if agreed, will be down to WTC and its ratepayers to fund alone.

• I believe the figures , not the costs speak for themselves and for those councillors who were present to vote on this issue so vehemently against this proposal, (as reported) when the debate that was had, again as reported, was by all accounts completely one sided and delivered by councillors who days before at the public meetings in Spooner row Church, were professing neutrality on this issue. It begs the question as to why YET AGAIN this Council is ignoring the majority views and opinions of those people they were elected to represent and why?

• I would suggest to you that having voted to support this objection has, once again opened the whole Council to ridicule

• However it would appear that is done and dusted as far WTC is concerned and I hope you realise that by voting for this motion to object and suggesting a further referendum you are effectively denying the voters of the three sub parishes their right in LAW to register discontent with the way they perceive they are being governed. Of course this is now a matter for South Norfolk to determine in their recommendation to the Boundary commission, who I suspect will take a very dim view of the opinion expressed by WTC, given the clear weight of numbers in favour of this proposal and given the underhand and inaccurate way this has been presented. I have no doubt they will be informed.

• I would like to say these are my own views alone , but as far as the majority of residents of the three sub parishes are concerned, this ‘exercise’ simply re enforces the view that WTC sits in an ivory tower and does not give a hoot about the outlying parishes views on how they are governed or communicated with. I admit that most planning applications have been objected to by WTC and overturned by SNDC, as openly admitted, quite unapologetically by Cllr Mooney on the Friday open meeting. As the one ward councillor of the three, until very recently, who is as active as I can be, in trying to communicate what is happening and WHY, I am bound to say this whole process is very disappointing to say the least.

 Julian Halls

Wymondham Town Council acknowledges that the Electoral Arrangements Review Committee at South Norfolk Council received 316 responses to their initial consultation from residents, indicating their support for the idea of creating a separate parish, independent of Wymondham.

 Wymondham Town Council has undertaken it's own consultation and requests that the Electoral Arrangements Review Committee take the following points into consideration at its next formal meeting on 29th November 2017, when a reccommendationb is due to be made to the Electoral Commission. The responses received were evenly split between residents wishing to leave and those wishing to remain.

 1. The EARC should conduct a formal referendum within the parish to establish residents' views.

 2. From the responses received, it is apparent that there is strong support from the residents of Suton to remain within the parish of Wymondham. Wymondham Town Council recommends that the EARC take these views into account and, should it be minded to recommend the creation of a separate parish to the Electoral Commission, requests that the recommended boundary for the new parish be drawn along the line of the A11 Trunk Road such that the existing parish land to the west of the A11 remains within the parish of Wymondham, otherwise to be defined as the electoral area known as DT1.

 3. It is noted that the parochial church of Spooner Row is a daughter church of Wymondham Abbey and that the parish boundary for church purposes is identical to the civic parish boundary.

As a Suton resident I have requested from WTC the specific breakdown of responses from Suton and have asked for the evidence to back up their  statement that 'it is apparent that there is strong support from the residents of Suton to remain within the parish of Wymondham'. i will share this information when I receive it. 

This is a copy of the letter I will be delivering to the residents of Suton I believe it says it all.

Dear Resident this is the recommendation that WTC has adopted already to forward to South Norfolk regarding the proposed formation of a new Council

2. From the responses received, it is apparent that there is strong support from the residents of Suton to remain within the parish of Wymondham. Wymondham Town Council recommends that the EARC take these views into account and, should it be minded to recommend the creation of a separate parish to the Electoral Commission, requests that the recommended boundary for the new parish be drawn along the line of the A11 Trunk Road such that the existing parish land to the west of the A11 remains within the parish of Wymondham, otherwise to be defined as the electoral area known as DT1.

I have asked at Town Council whether you have been asked about this given that the alleged strong support is apparently claimed as a result of some very vociferous individuals who attended the open session in Spooner row Church. The exact figures were not provided. Given the extremely poor communication YOU receive from the Tory Council, except when they want your vote, are you aware of the consequences of this recommendation to you as resident?

They have no plans to ask and were very keen to grasp any straw they could to undermine this process given that the only councillor who only ever seems to do anything and attempt to communicate with you via the Spooner row message board is me. I am aware that the message board is far from perfect and improvements and a greater say in local matters would be a big plus of a new council.

However what will this proposed change actually mean for you?

• You will continue to pay the Wymondham Town precept and ‘enjoy’ one of the highest precept charges in the county AND you will get a discount if you wish to bury your loved ones in the cemetery.

• You will continue with the current arrangements for communication and have the benefit of 3 ward Councillors. Yes you do have 3 ! One has just resigned and should never have taken up the role and the other, who is also your District Councillor I guess you never hear from either. Can you name him? You might care to reflect how much communication you have had from them over the last two years and bear in mind his FAILED election promise to stop and prevent new large housing coming to Suton .

• You will not get the likely reduction in the precept that a new Council will almost certainly set and you will continue to be able to use the facilities in Wymondham. This use will remain unchanged for BOTH council options.

• They are many other less fundamental reasons and if you are happy with this proposal then you need do nothing

If however you feel that this is a decision being made on your behalf without being consulted , as I do and that has to be wrong then the time to write or email. JTovee@S-NORFOLK.GOV.UK is now.

She will also be keen to learn about the level of support you have for the new Council one way or the other and if you feel that the level of governance you are currently enjoying is okay then say so. You have until the 27th of this month to do so

My personal view is that this whole process has been very badly handled and it is this reason that I have taken the trouble to write to you, of my own volition and using my resources to tell you and encourage you to comment. I delivered this letter

Yours sincerely Julian Halls 2 Chapel loke Spooner row 01953 600720 Town Councillor

I must eat humble pie

In the above post I stated that WTC has one of the highest in the county That is WRONG ! It should say South Norfolk district and I apologise for this error