Voters in East Riding reject extension of boundaries of neighbouring authority

Hull CC set up its independent commission to look at a number of different arrangements:

• Combining existing Hull and East Riding councils into one authority;
• Keeping the two existing councils but combining certain functions;
• Extending the city boundary to encompass the city’s travel to work area;
• Extending the city boundary to encompass the surrounding built up area;
• Merging the officer administrations of Hull and East Riding councils.

East Riding responded by organising a referendum, which took place by postal vote between 8 and 26 September and posed two questions.

The first – Should the boundaries of Hull City Council be extended to include Anlaby, with Anlaby Common, Bilton, Cottingham, Elloughton cum Brough, Hedon, Hessle, Kirk Ella, North Ferriby, Preston, Swanland, Welton and Willerby? – saw 51,312 ‘No’ votes (96.5%) and 1,887 ‘Yes’ votes (3.5%).

The second question – There are green open spaces separating Hull from the surrounding towns and villages in the East Riding which your council has sought for many years to protect from being built upon. This is now being opposed by Hull City Council which wants to develop land it owns in these areas. Do you think Hull City Council should be allowed to build upon land it owns in the green open spaces separating Hull and the towns and villages? – saw 50,981 ‘No’ votes (96%) and 2,167 ‘Yes’ votes (4%).

The total number of ballots was 53,199, giving a turnout of 75.27%.

In a speech following the announcement of the result, Cllr Stephen Parnaby, Leader of East Riding Council, hailed the high percentage, pointing out that it exceeded a range of turnouts for past elections such as the Parliamentary election in 2010, the European election this year and the 2011 local elections in the affected wards.

Cllr Parnaby said: “The voice of the people has been heard loud and clear and the massive ‘no’ vote on both questions should now be respected by Hull City Council and the so-called independent commission which it set up to look into various boundary and other options….

“Let us hope the result of this referendum puts a stop to the city council’s hostile takeover of the East Riding and land grab.”

East Riding’s Leader also called on the city council to “shut up about the boundary issue for at least another 20 years”.

In the section on its website giving its reasons for setting up the commission, Hull argued ahead of the result that the East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s poll was “asking the wrong questions at the wrong time”.

It added: “The outcome will have no bearing on the work of the commission, which at this stage is simply looking at the evidence and examining all of the options for change.

“[It] would be up to the government’s National Boundary Commission to consult all of the communities affected by any proposals for changing the city boundary rather than residents living in a limited number of areas.”

Hull insisted that “despite what the East Riding of Yorkshire Council say, we have no interest in a land grab”, adding that boundaries were just one of a number of options that would be considered by the commission.

“What is important is that local government in Hull and the East Riding is delivered as efficiently as possible and in a way that will give the whole area more clout, more investment and more jobs,” it argued.

“Many other councils have already joined forces to deliver certain services and pool resources. These include councils in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle and they are already reaping the rewards. We must not be left behind again.”