Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Borough of West Devon (Electoral Changes) Order 1999.

(2) This Order shall come into force–

(a)for the purpose of all proceedings preliminary or relating to any election to be held on 1st May 2003, on 10th October 2002;

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

(3) In this Order–

“the borough” means the borough of West Devon;

“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 of the Environment, Transport and the Regions marked “Map of the Borough of West Devon (Electoral Changes) Order 1999”, 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 West Devon

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

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

(3) The wards shall comprise the areas described in column (2) of the Schedule by reference to parishes or, where no area is 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 the Schedule.

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

The parish of Buckland Monachorum

3.—(1) The parish of Buckland Monachorum shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Buckland Harrowbeer and Buckland Monachorum.

(2) The Buckland Harrowbeer parish ward shall comprise so much of the borough ward of Walkham as comprises the parish of Buckland Monachorum, and the Buckland Monachorum parish ward shall comprise so much of the borough ward of Buckland Monachorum as comprises the parish of Buckland Monachorum.

(3) The number of parish councillors to be elected for the Buckland Harrowbeer parish ward shall be one and the number of parish councillors to be elected for the Buckland Monachorum parish ward shall be eleven.

Wards of the parish of Drewsteignton

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

(2) The parish shall be divided into four parish wards which shall bear the names Crockernwell, Drewsteignton, Venton and Whiddon Down; and the wards shall comprise the areas designated on sheet 7 by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by orange lines.

(3) The number of councillors to be elected for the Crockernwell parish ward shall be two; the number of councillors to be elected for each of the Drewsteignton and Whiddon Down parish wards shall be three and the number of councillors to be elected for the Venton parish ward shall be one.

The parish of Meavy

5.—(1) The parish of Meavy shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Dousland Meavy and Meavy Village and the wards shall comprise the areas designated on sheet 8 by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by orange lines.

(2) The number of councillors to be elected for the Dousland Meavy parish ward shall be four and the number of councillors to be elected for the Meavy Village parish ward shall be three.

The parish of Okehampton

6.—(1) The parish of Okehampton shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Okehampton East and Okehampton West.

(2) The Okehampton East parish ward shall be coterminous with the borough ward of the same name and the Okehampton West parish ward shall consist of the rest of the parish.

(3) The number of councillors to be elected for each parish ward shall be seven.

The parish of Okehampton Hamlets

7.—(1) The parish of Okehampton Hamlets shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Okehampton Brightleigh and Okehampton Park.

(2) The Okehampton Brightleigh parish ward shall comprise so much of the borough ward of Lew Valley as comprises the parish of Okehampton Hamlets and the Okehampton Park parish ward shall comprise so much of the borough ward of Okehampton West as comprises the parish of Okehampton Hamlets.

(3) The number of councillors to be elected for the Okehampton Brightleigh parish ward shall be three and the number of councillors to be elected for the Okehampton Park parish ward shall be five.

The wards of the parish of Tavistock

8.—(1) The existing wards of the parish of Tavistock shall be abolished.

(2) The parish shall be divided into three parish wards which shall bear the names Tavistock North, Tavistock South and Tavistock South West and each ward shall comprise the area of the ward of the borough bearing the same name.

(3) The number of councillors to be elected for the Tavistock North parish ward shall be eight; the number of councillors to be elected for the Tavistock South parish ward shall be seven and the number of councillors to be elected for the Tavistock South West parish ward shall be two.

The parish of Walkhampton

9.—(1) The parish of Walkhampton shall be divided into two parish wards which shall bear the names Dousland Walkhampton and Walkhampton Village; and the wards shall comprise the areas designated on sheet 9 by reference to the name of the ward and demarcated by orange lines.

(2) The number of councillors to be elected for the Dousland Walkhampton parish ward shall be four and the number of councillors to be elected for the Walkhampton Village parish ward shall be three.

Revocation

10.  The District of West Devon (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 is hereby revoked.

Article 2

SCHEDULENAMES AND AREAS OF WARDS AND NUMBERS OF COUNCILLORS

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

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

The modification alters the name proposed for one of the wards of the parish of Buckland Monachorum, and the number of parish councillors to be elected for each ward of that parish. The proposed Buckland Village parish ward will be known as the Buckland Monachorum parish ward and will be represented by eleven, rather than ten, parish councillors. The Buckland Harrowbeer parish ward will be represented by one, rather than two, parish councillors.

Article 2 abolishes the existing wards of the borough and provides for the creation of 22 new wards. That article and the Schedule make provision for the names and areas of, and numbers of councillors for, the new wards.

Articles 3 to 9 make electoral changes in the parishes of Buckland Monachorum, Drewsteignton, Meavy, Okehampton,.Okehampton Hamlets, Tavistock and Walkhampton.

Article 10 revokes the District of West Devon (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977.

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 the West Devon Borough Council and at the offices of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 2nd Floor, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE.