The Tonbridge and Malling (Electoral Changes) Order 2001

Statutory Instruments

2001 No. 3615

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENGLAND

The Tonbridge and Malling (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 Tonbridge and Malling 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 Tonbridge and Malling (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 Tonbridge and Malling;

“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 Tonbridge and Malling (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 Tonbridge and Malling

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

(2) The borough shall be divided into twenty-six 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 and parish wards 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 Tonbridge and Malling

3.—(1) The ordinary elections of all councillors of the borough of Tonbridge and Malling 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 Hadlow

4.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Hadlow shall be abolished.

(2) The parish 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 Mereworth

5.  The parish of Mereworth 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.

Wards of the parish of Snodland

6.  The parish of Snodland shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Snodland East and Snodland West; and each parish ward shall comprise the area of the borough ward bearing the same name, and the number of councillors to be elected for Snodland East parish ward shall be seven, and for the Snodland West parish ward shall be eight.

Numbers of parish councillors for Aylesford

7.  The number of parish councillors to be elected for the Aylesford South parish ward shall be seven, for the Walderslade parish ward shall be five, for each of the Blue Bell Hill and Eccles parish wards shall be three, and for the Aylesford North parish ward shall be two.

Revocation

8.  The Borough of Tonbridge and Malling (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1989 and the District of Tonbridge and Malling (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976(7) are hereby revoked.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of Statefor 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 1 NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Ward	Area of Ward	Number of Councillors
Aylesford	The North and South parish wards of Aylesford parish	2
Blue Bell Hill and Walderslade	The Blue Bell Hill and Walderslade parish wards of Aylesford parish	2
Borough Green and Long Mill	The parishes of Borough Green, Platt, Plaxtol and Shipbourne	3
Burham, Eccles and Wouldham	The parishes of Burham and Wouldham and Eccles parish ward of Aylesford parish	2
Cage Green		2
Castle		2
Ditton	The parish of Ditton	2
Downs	The parishes of Addington, Birling, Offham, Ryarsh, Stansted and Trottiscliffe	2
East Malling	The East Malling parish ward of East Malling and Larkfield parish	2
East Peckham and Golden Green		2
Hadlow, Mereworth and West Peckham		2
Higham		3
Hildenborough	The parish of Hildenborough	2
Ightham	The parish of Ightham	1
Judd		2
Kings Hill		2
Larkfield North	The Larkfield North parish ward of East Malling and Larkfield parish	2
Larkfield South	The Larkfield South parish ward of East Malling and Larkfield parish	2
Medway		2
Snodland East		2
Snodland West		3
Trench		2
Vauxhall		2
Wateringbury	The parish of Wateringbury	1
West Malling and Leybourne	The parishes of Leybourne and West Malling	3
Wrotham	The parish of Wrotham	1

article 4

SCHEDULE 2 WARDS OF THE PARISH OF HADLOW NAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBER OF COUNCILLORS

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Ward	Area of Ward	Number of Councillors
Golden Green	So much of the borough ward of East Peckham and Golden Green as comprises part of the parish of Hadlow	2
Hadlow	So much of the borough ward of Hadlow, Mereworth and West Peckham as comprises part of the parish of Hadlow	11

article 5

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

(1)	(2)	(3)
Name of Ward	Area of Ward	Number of Councillors
Airfield	So much of the borough ward of Kings Hill as comprises part of the parish of Mereworth	2
Mereworth Village	So much of the borough ward of Hadlow, Mereworth and West Peckham as comprises part of the parish of Mereworth	5

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 Tonbridge and Malling. 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 26 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 Tonbridge and Malling to take place in 2003 and every 4 years after that year.

Articles 4 to 7 make electoral changes in the parishes of Hadlow, Mereworth, Snodland and Aylesford.

Article 8 revokes the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1989 and the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976.

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 Tonbridge and Malling 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 Tonbridge and Malling 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 Tonbridge and Malling (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/2291).

(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. 1976/1867.