Transferring Ninfield from Wealden to Rother is not supported

On Wednesday (September 20), Wealden District Council’s audit and governance committee confirmed that the authority would not support a request from Ninfield Parish Council to hold a Principal Area Boundary Review (PABR).

The requested review would have looked at redrawing the boundaries of both Wealden and Rother District Councils, effectively transferring Ninfield parish from one to the other.

The final decision on holding such reviews are a matter for The Local Government Boundary Commission For England (LGBCE), however the committee’s position means the review is unlikely to move forward.

This, officers said, is because LGBCE rarely, if ever, carry out such reviews where the proposals are not supported by all the councils involved. For its part, Rother District Council has said it would support whatever view WDC settled on.

Officers said LGBCE also require ‘strong evidence’ in support of the case for change.

The parish council had conducted a poll on the proposals at the beginning of December 2020, which showed such a move was supported by 430 local residents and opposed by 27. For context, Ninfield has 1,263 electors meaning fewer than half took part in the poll.

Wealden District Council has also undertaken its own community consultation process, which concluded last Friday (September 16).

While a full breakdown of this consultation was not available to the committee, officers said it had shown most respondents were in favour of the proposals and that many were driven by dissatisfaction with Wealden’s planning process.

However, officers also noted that there were ‘strong views’ on both sides of the issue. They highlighted in particular the concerns of Wealden’s council house tenants living in the area. Officers said the full implications of a boundary change on these tenants would need further examination if the process were to proceed.

In a report considered by the committee, a council officer said: “Officers are of the opinion that, taking account of the guidance issued by the LGBCE and the need for clear support from all principal councils affected, it would be unlikely that there is sufficient evidence to support a PABR at this time.”

The officers’ recommendation which was adopted by the committee.