The Borough of Darlington (Electoral Changes) Order 2001

Statutory Instruments

2001 No. 3357

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND

The Borough of Darlington (Electoral Changes) Order 2001

Made

4th October 2001

Coming into force in accordance with article 1(2)

Whereas the Local Government Commission for England, acting pursuant to section 15(4) of the Local Government Act 1992(1), has submitted to the Secretary of State a report dated May 2001 on its review of the borough(2) of Darlington together with its recommendations:

And whereas the Secretary of State has decided to give effect to those recommendations:

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 17(3) and 26 of the Local Government Act 1992, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Borough of Darlington (Electoral Changes) Order 2001.

(2) This Order shall come into force—

(a) for the purpose of proceedings preliminary or relating to any election to be held on 1st May 2003, on 15th October 2002;

(b) for all other purposes, on 1st May 2003.

(3) In this Order—

“borough” means the borough of Darlington;

“existing”, in relation to a ward, means the ward as it exists on the date this Order is made; and

any reference to the map is a reference to the map prepared by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions marked “Map of the Borough of Darlington (Electoral Changes) Order 2001”, and deposited in accordance with regulation 27 of the Local Government Changes for England Regulations 1994(4).

Wards of the borough of Darlington

2.—(1) The existing wards of the borough(5) shall be abolished.

(2) The borough shall be divided into twenty-four wards which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 1.

(3) The wards shall comprise the areas described in column (2) of that Schedule by reference to parishes or, where an area is not so described, the area designated on the map by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by red lines; and the number of councillors to be elected for each ward shall be the number specified in respect of the ward in column (3) of that Schedule.

(4) Where a boundary is shown on the map as running along a road, railway line, footway, watercourse or similar geographical feature, it shall be treated as running along the centre line of the feature.

Elections of the council of Darlington

3.—(1) The ordinary elections of all councillors of the borough of Darlington shall be held simultaneously on the ordinary day of election of non-metropolitan district councillors in 2003(6) and every fourth year after 2003.

(2) The term of office of any councillor so elected shall be four years and on the fourth day after any such elections the persons who were councillors immediately before those elections shall retire and the newly elected councillors shall come in to office.

Wards of the parish of Archdeacon Newton

4.  The parish of Archdeacon Newton shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 2; each parish ward shall comprise the area of the borough ward specified in respect of the parish ward in column (2) of that Schedule; and the number of councillors to be elected for each parish ward shall be the number specified in respect of the parish ward in column (3) of that Schedule.

Wards of the parish of Whessoe

5.  The parish of Whessoe shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 3; each parish ward shall comprise the area of the borough ward specified in respect of the parish ward in column (2) of that Schedule; and the number of councillors to be elected for each parish ward shall be the number specified in respect of the parish ward in column (3) of that Schedule.

Revocation

6.  The Borough of Darlington (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976 and article 9 of the Durham (Borough of Darlington) (Structural Changes) Order 1995(7) are hereby revoked.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

Alan Whitehead

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

4th October 2001

Article 2

SCHEDULE 1 NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of ward	Area of ward	Number of Councillors
Bank Top		2
Central		2
Cockerton East		3
Cockerton West		2
College		2
Eastbourne		3
Faverdale		1
Harrowgate Hill		3
Haughton East		2
Haughton North		2
Haughton West		3
Heighington and Coniscliffe		2
Hummersknott		2
Hurworth	The parishes of Hurworth, Neasham and Sockburn	2
Lascelles		2
Lingfield		2
Middleton St George	The parishes of Middleton St George and Low Dinsdale	2
Mowden		2
Northgate		2
North Road		3
Park East		3
Park West		2
Pierremont		3
Sadberge and Whessoe		1

Article 4

SCHEDULE 2 WARDS OF THE PARISH OF ARCHDEACON NEWTON NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of ward	Area of ward	Number of Councillors
Archdeacon Newton Rural	So much of the borough ward of Heighington and Coniscliffe as comprises part of the parish of Archdeacon Newton	1
Archdeacon Newton Urban	So much of the borough ward of Faverdale as comprises part of the parish of Archdeacon Newton	6

Article 5

SCHEDULE 3 WARDS OF THE PARISH OF WHESSOE NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of ward	Area of ward	Number of Councillors
Harrowgate	So much of the borough ward of Harrowgate Hill as comprises part of the parish of Whessoe	4
Whessoe Rural	So much of the borough ward of Sadberge and Whessoe as comprises part of the parish of Whessoe	3

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order gives effect to recommendations by the Local Government Commission for England for electoral changes in the borough of Darlington. The changes have effect in relation to local government elections to be held on and after 1st May 2003.

Article 2 abolishes the existing wards of the borough and provides for the creation of 24 new wards. That article and Schedule 1 also make provision for the names and areas of, and numbers of councillors for, the new wards.

Article 3 provides for the election of all councillors of the borough of Darlington to take place in 2003 and every 4 years after that year.

Articles 4 and 5 make electoral changes in the parishes of Archdeacon Newton and Whessoe.

Article 6 revokes the Borough of Darlington (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976 and article 9 of the Durham (Borough of Darlington) (Structural Changes) Order 1995.

The areas of the new borough wards are demarcated on the map described in article 1(3). Prints of the map may be inspected at all reasonable times at the offices of Darlington Borough Council and at the offices of the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, 2nd Floor, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.

(1)

1992 c. 19

(2)

The non-metropolitan district of Darlington has the status of a borough.

(3)

Section 17 is amended by section 39(4) and (5) of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994 (c. 29).

(4)

S.I. 1994/867, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Order.

(5)

See The Borough of Darlington (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976 (S.I. 1976/832).

(6)

For the ordinary day of election of councillors of local government areas, see section 37 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2), amended by section 18(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (c. 50) and section 17 of, and paragraphs 1 and 5 of Schedule 3 to, the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29).

(7)

S.I. 1995/1772.