Statutory Instruments
2001 No. 3560
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND
The Borough of Dartford (Electoral Changes) Order 2001
Made
1st November 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 Dartford together with its recommendations:
And whereas the Secretary of State has decided to give effect, subject to one modification, 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 Dartford (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 Dartford;
“existing”, in relation to a ward, means the ward as it exists on the date this Order is made;
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 Dartford (Electoral Changes) Order 2001”; and deposited in accordance with regulation 27 of the Local Government Changes for England Regulations 1994(4); and
any reference to a numbered sheet is a reference to the sheet of the map which bears that number.
Wards of the borough of Dartford
2.—(1) The existing wards of the borough(5) shall be abolished.
(2) The borough shall be divided into seventeen 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 Dartford
3.—(1) The ordinary elections of all councillors of the borough of Dartford 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 councillors shall be four years; and all councillors shall retire on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election of councillors in the year of retirement and the newly-elected councillors shall come into office on the day on which their predecessors retire.
Wards of the parish of Darenth
4.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Darenth shall be abolished.
(2) The parish shall be divided into five parish wards which shall bear the names Darenth Park, Fleet Downs, Green Street Green, Ladywood and Lane End; and the wards shall comprise the areas designated on sheet 3 by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by orange lines.
(3) The number of councillors to be elected for each of the Fleet Downs and Green Street Green parish wards shall be one, for the Darenth Park parish ward shall be two, and for each of the Ladywood and Lane End parish wards shall be four.
Wards of the parish of Stone
5.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Stone shall be abolished.
(2) The parish shall be divided into five parish wards which shall bear the names Castle, Horns Cross, Milestone, Stone Village and St Johns; and the wards shall comprise the areas designated on sheet 3 by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by orange lines.
(3) The number of councillors to be elected for each of the Horns Cross, Milestone and Stone Village parish wards shall be two, and for each of the Castle and St Johns parish wards shall be three.
Wards of the parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe
6.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe shall be abolished.
(2) The parish shall be divided into four parish wards which shall bear the names Galley Hill, Greenhithe, Knockhall and Swanscombe; and the wards shall comprise the areas designated on sheet 3 by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by orange lines.
(3) The number of councillors to be elected for each parish ward shall be five.
Wards of the parish of Wilmington
7.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Wilmington shall be abolished.
(2) The parish of Wilmington shall be divided into three 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.
Revocation
8. The District of Dartford (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1975 is 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
1st November 2001
Article 2
SCHEDULE 1NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS
| (1) | (2) | (3) |
|---|---|---|
| Name of Ward | Area of Ward | Number of Councillors |
| Bean and Darenth | 3 | |
| Brent | 3 | |
| Castle | 1 | |
| Greenhithe | 3 | |
| Heath | 3 | |
| Joyce Green | 2 | |
| Joydens Wood | 3 | |
| Littlebrook | 2 | |
| Longfield, New Barn and Southfleet | The parishes of Longfield and New Barn, and Southfleet | 3 |
| Newtown | 3 | |
| Princes | 3 | |
| Stone | 3 | |
| Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley | The parish of Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley | 2 |
| Swanscombe | 3 | |
| Town | 2 | |
| West Hill | 3 | |
| Wilmington | 2 |
article 7
SCHEDULE 2WARDS OF THE PARISH OF WILMINGTON
NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS
| (1) | (2) | (3) |
|---|---|---|
| Name of Ward | Area of Ward | Number of Councillors |
| Birchwood | So much of the borough ward of Joydens Wood as comprises part of the parish of Wilmington | 3 |
| Central | The borough ward of Wilmington | 5 |
| Orange Tree | So much of the borough ward of Princes as comprises part of the parish of Wilmington | 1 |
Explanatory Note
(This Note is not part of the Order)
This Order gives effect subject to one modification, to recommendations by the Local Government Commission for England for electoral changes in the borough of Dartford. The changes have effect in relation to local government elections to be held on and after 1st May 2003.
The modification is that the Secretary of State has decided that the Swanscombe Centre is transferred from the Knockhall Ward to the Galley Hill Ward.
Article 2 abolishes the existing wards of the borough and provides for the creation of 17 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 Dartford to take place in 2003 and every 4 years after that year.
Articles 4 to 7 make electoral changes in the parishes of Darenth, Stone, Swanscombe and Greenhithe, and Wilmington.
Article 8 revokes the District of Dartford (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1975.
The areas of the new borough and parish wards are demarcated on the map described in article 1(3). Prints of the map may be inspected at all reasonable times at the office of Dartford Borough Council and at the office of the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, 2nd Floor, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.
The non-metropolitan district of Dartford has the status of a borough.
Section 17 is amended by section 39(4) and (5) of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994 (c. 29).
S.I. 1994/867, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Order.
See the District of Dartford (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1975 (S.I. 1975/1681), as amended by the Kent (District Boundaries) Order 1987 (S.I. 1987/305), the Dartford Parish Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/108), the Greater London and Kent (County Boundaries) Order 1992 (S.I. 1992/2090) and the Dartford (Parishes) Order 2000 (S.I. 2000/87).
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).