The Hereford and Worcester (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996

PART III ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS

Electoral areas in Malvern Hills

6.—(1) The new district of Malvern Hills shall be divided into 27 wards which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 2.

(2) The wards shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to wards of the existing district of Malvern Hills(1) or, as the case may be, parishes in that district and the existing district of Leominster) in column (2) of that Schedule 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.

Electoral areas in Herefordshire

7.—(1) The new district of Herefordshire shall be divided into 44 wards which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 3.

(2) The wards shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to existing wards(2) or, as the case may be, parishes) in column (2) of that Schedule 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.

Electoral areas in Worcestershire

8.—(1) The new county of Worcestershire shall be divided into 57 divisions which shall bear the names set out in column (1) of Schedule 4.

(2) Those divisions shall comprise the areas respectively described (by reference to existing divisions of the county of Hereford and Worcester(3) or, as the case may be, wards of the new district of Malvern Hills) in column (2) of that Schedule.

Election of councillors

9.—(1) Elections of all councillors of the councils of the new districts of Malvern Hills and Herefordshire shall be held simultaneously on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 1997, 2000 and 2003 and every fourth year after 2003(4); and the term of office of any councillor so elected shall be, in the case of a councillor elected in 1997 or 2000, three years and, in any other case, four years.

(2) Elections of all councillors of the council of the new county of Worcestershire shall be held simultaneously on the ordinary day of election of councillors in 1997 and every fourth year after 1997; and the term of office of every councillor so elected shall be four years.

(3) On the fourth day after an election held after 1997 by virtue of this article–

(a) the persons who were councillors immediately before the election shall retire; and

(b) the newly elected councillors shall come into office.

First elections

10.  At the elections held in 1997 by virtue of article 9, the returning officer shall be—

(a) in the case of the new district of Malvern Hills, the returning officer appointed under section 35 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 by the council of the existing district of Malvern Hills;

(b) in the case of the new district of Herefordshire, the returning officer so appointed by the council of the existing district of South Herefordshire; and

(c) in the case of the new county of Worcestershire, the returning officer so appointed by the council of the existing county of Hereford and Worcester.

Suspension of elections and retirement of councillors

11.—(1) The ordinary election of councillors in 1997 for the council of the existing county of Hereford and Worcester shall not take place; and any councillor for that council holding office immediately before the relevant date who would, but for this paragraph, have retired on that date shall, unless he resigns his office or it otherwise becomes vacant, continue to hold office until the reorganisation date.

(2) Section 89 of the 1972 Act (filling of casual vacancies in case of councillors) shall have effect, in relation to a casual vacancy occurring in the office of councillor for any relevant electoral area, as if the reference in subsection (3) of that section to the day on which the councillor whose office is vacant would regularly have retired were a reference to the reorganisation date; and, for this purpose, “relevant electoral area” means a ward in the existing city of Hereford or the existing district of Leominster, Malvern Hills or South Herefordshire or an electoral division of the existing county of Hereford and Worcester.

(1)

For the limits of the existing wards of the district of Malvern Hills, see the District of Malvern Hills (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976 (S.I.1976/1757).

(2)

For details of wards, see the City of Hereford (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 (S.I.1977/413); the District of Leominster (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978 (S.I.1978/1843); the District of Malvern Hills (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976 and the District of South Herefordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1991 (S.I.1991/816).

(3)

See the County of Hereford and Worcester (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1983 (S.I.1983/1723). Changes to the boundaries of divisions in the districts of Bromsgrove and Wychavon and the borough of Redditch have been made by S.I.1993/272, 492 and 2971.

(4)

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).