Since November 2015, a working group of South Hams District Councillors has been looking at the Parish Boundaries between the Town of Ivybridge and the Parish of Ugborough.
During this time, the Councillors have been looking at the possibility of transferring a piece of land to the East of Ivybridge from the Parish of Ugborough to the Parish of Ivybridge, so that the Parish boundaries in this area more accurately reflect the ward boundaries for both South Hams District and Devon County Councils.
So far the working group has been seeking the initial views of the residents that would be directly affected by any change, the County Council and the affected Parish and Town Councils.
The Chairman of the working group, Cllr John Tucker said; “This is a difficult issue for us to deal with. While we recognise that there is merit in aligning the physical boundary with the electoral boundaries, the residents affected would then be paying a different rate of council tax because Ivybridge’s precept is higher than Ugborough’s. And one of the other questions that we have been asking ourselves is whether the characteristics of the area concerned are more akin to the village setting than the town.”
Today South Hams District Council agreed to open the debate to the next stage of public consultation so that the views of more people could be heard.
Cllr Tucker continued “ The Working Group has been concerned that, during the initial stage of the review, we have only had 4 comments back from the consultees that we contacted. The Group would strongly encourage local residents and stakeholders to express their views during the next stage of the review, as this will be their final opportunity to make comments before the Council has to reach a decision at a meeting in the Autumn.
The final consultation phase will take place between 23 May and 9 September and for further information, including how to get involved: visit the Council website (www.southhams.gov.uk) or email Member.Services@swdevon.gov.uk
