Appendix A

Findings from initial investigation into queries from Polling Place Review Sub Committee

1) Penniment Ward – Polling District PNA

Proposal: Concern was expressed by one member that turnout was low from the Mellors Road and Wainwright Avenue area at the May 2011 elections. These voters currently vote at Rosebrook Primary School, a proposal has been made to explore whether their polling arrangements could be redesignated to be Cyril Stone Hall, Blyth Close.

The designated polling place for Polling District PNA is Rosebrook Primary School. The electorate of this polling district is currently 1290. Cyril Stone Hall currently contains 1 polling station that serves the whole of the Abbott Ward with an electorate of 2244. Upon initial inspection there appears to be 3 options which may accommodate the proposal.

It is possible to create a polling district for Wainwright Avenue and Mellors Road and the surrounding area as Hall Barn Lane creates a natural boundary. These voters could then vote at Cyril Stone Hall. However, this option has 2 undesirable effects. As about two thirds of the electorate of PNA live in this area it would send around 712 voters to Cyril Stone Hall leaving only 577 to vote at Rosebrook Primary School. To have a dedicated polling station for an electorate this size is only recommended in exceptional circumstances and it would not be popular to close a school for a day to accommodate such a small number of voters. The second effect is that it would send the number of people voting at Cyril Stone Hall to approximately 3000 people. Whilst the hall itself can comfortably accommodate 2 polling stations it would place pressure on the parking arrangements at that venue and the Electoral Commission recommends that the electorate at a polling station should not exceed 2500 voters.

To alleviate this issue there is an option - in addition to creating a third polling district in Penniment Ward who could vote at Cyril Stone Hall, a second polling district could be created in the Abbott Ward and consider using St Augustine’s Church, off Abbott Road, as a polling station. This would alleviate the pressure on Cyril Stone Hall. St Augustine’s Church was inspected on 3rd May 2012 and is considered to be suitable for a polling station. However, there is only room for one car to enter/exit the premises at a time and the Building Inspector has recommended that a ramp (either temporary or permanent) be put in place to comply with access requirements. It has been estimated that this option would increase costs at each future election by approximately £800 (Additional polling staff, accommodation, equipment and stationery) plus the cost of a ramp.

2) Carr Bank Ward - Polling District CBB

The designated polling place for polling district CBB is the River Maun Recreation Centre. A query was raised by one member about whether a more local polling venue that does not require walking up and down hill could be found for the Linnet Drive area.

This area is on the edge of polling district B of the Carr Bank Ward. Prior to the 2010 Polling Place Review most voters in this area voted at the former Ravensdale school building (this has since been demolished) but this review found the Ravensdale Building to be no longer suitable so this area was instead served by the River Maun Recreation Centre which is also in the polling district. Other suggested venues included the Mechanics Institute, Stuart Avenue (but the inspection of this building in 2010 found that it is not suitable for 2 polling stations and it is already the designated polling place for polling district KYB). An initial inspection discovered that there are few public buildings in this area that could be used as polling stations and there appears to be only 1 possible option:

There is a Community Centre on Lansbury Gardens off Chadburn Road which could be used. This would provide a better service to the voters in the Linnets Drive area and the Chadburn Road area. However this centre is on the very edge of the polling district and therefore in the areas around Hibbert Road, Houfton Road and Sanders Avenue would have to travel a long way to vote. Altering the boundary between Polling Districts CBA and CBB to send some of these voters to Portland Hall Hotel would not be beneficial as it is no closer than Lansbury Gardens. To alleviate this issue a new polling district would have to be created, splitting CBB in 2 with half continuing to vote at river Maun and half voting at Lansbury Gardens. The consequential polling district voting at River Maun would have an electorate of 881 (1446 at present) and the electorate at Lansbury Gardens Community Centre would be 565. When this building was inspected in 2009 it was deemed to be unsuitable for polling purposes due to there being very limited parking, this being around a small grassed area from which doors to bungalows were accessible, making residents vulnerable.

3) Newgate Ward – Polling District NGB

Complaints were received in May 2011 from voters living on Bolsover Street and Montague Street that they have to vote at Newgate Primary School rather than Asquith Primary School which is much closer. Asquith Primary School serves the whole of Racecourse ward.

During the 2010 polling place review it was decided that Asquith Primary School was not an ideal venue as it has very limited parking. As it was the only suitable polling station for the RCA polling district which contains 2227 electors it was agreed that no electors from the Newgate Ward should vote at Asquith Primary School as it was not large enough to accommodate another polling area and that polling district NGB should vote at Newgate Primary School. The initial investigation found 3 community buildings in the locality of NGB. The Pentecostal church on Empire Street was deemed unsuitable due to the lack of parking. However St Lawrence Church Hall on the corner of Pecks Hill and Sandy Lane was considered a possibility as was the “Treasury” centre on Bolsover Street. Both of these venues have the disadvantage that voters on Prospect Street and Broxtowe Drive would have a long distance to travel but the location is more convenient for the Eastern part of the polling district. There appear to be 2 options for the polling arrangements for this area:

a) The first option is to allocate the polling place for both NGA and NGB as St Lawrence Church Hall/the Treasury Centre. This would involve ceasing to use the Tenants Meeting Room at Babworth Court and using Newgate Primary School for only one polling station for the PTA area. This is advantageous as the St Lawrence Church Hall/the Treasury Centre is central to the area and accessible for both NGA and NGB, it also reduces the number of polling stations the Returning Officer uses by one which results in a small saving.

b) The second option is to retain Babworth Court as the polling station for NGA and use St Lawrence Church Hall/the Treasury Centre as the polling station for NGB.

Unfortunately the managers of St Lawrence Church Hall and the Treasury have confirmed that they would not be willing to let their premises be used for polling due to them having existing permanent bookings on Thursdays.