Leicester City Liberal Democrats

19 May 2014 Alison Evison Review Manager Local Government Boundary Commission for England Layden House 76-86 Turnmill Street London EC1M 5LG Dear Ms Evison

Liberal Democrat Proposals for the Electoral Review for the City of Leicester Please find enclosed our response to the Commission’s draft proposals. We hope that the Commission will find this work useful. If you have any questions, or would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely Alan Fox Vice-Chair Leicester City Liberal Democrats cc. David Owen, Review Officer

Liberal Democrat Counter-Proposals for the Electoral Review for the City of

Leicester

At this stage of the electoral review, Leicester City Liberal Democrats are

supporting the Commission’s draft recommendations for the Braunstone and

Rowley Fields, Castle, Evington, Humberstone and Hamilton, Knighton,

Stoneygate, Thurncourt, and Westcotes wards.

We are putting forward three counter-proposals to the Commission’s draft

recommendations. Each can be considered separately. Each has the aim of

repairing the damage done by the draft proposals to the integrity of local

communities.

Firstly we propose a reconfiguration of the Commission’s draft Aylestone and

Eyres Monsell and Saffron and Aylestone Park wards in order to put the

community of Aylestone back together again.

Ward name number of councillors

Electorate (2012)

variance from

average %

Electorate (2019)

variance from average %

Aylestone 2 8,887 2% 9,155 4%

Eyres Monsell 2 8,661 -1% 8,350 -5%

Saffron & Freemen

2 8,637 -1% 9,027 2%

Secondly we propose a reconfiguration of the Commission’s draft Abbey,

Beaumont Leys, Fosse and Western wards in order to prevent the division of the

New Parks Estate between three wards.

Ward name number of councillors

Electorate (2012)

variance from

average %

Electorate (2019)

variance from average %

Abbey 3 13,397 2% 13,666 3%

Beaumont Leys

3 13,679 4% 13,738 4%

New Parks & Fosse

3 12,742 -3% 12,988 -2%

Western Park & Braunstone Frith

2 8,538 -2% 8,801 0%

Thirdly, we propose a reconfiguration of the Commission’s draft Belgrave, Green

Lane, Rushey Mead, Spinney Hills, Troon and Wycliffe wards to prevent the

unnecessary division of the Belgrave, Highfields, Northfields and Rushey Mead

communities.

Ward name number of councillors

Electorate (2012)

variance from

average %

Electorate (2019)

variance from average %

Belgrave 2 8,775 0% 8,873 1%

Latimer 3 13,031 -1% 13,307 1%

North Evington

3 13,741 5% 13,023 -2%

Northfields 2 9,040 3% 8,918 1%

Rushey Mead 2 8,837 1% 9,166 4%

Spinney Hills 3 12,983 -1% 13,078 -1%

We would ask that the Commission check our electorate figures as, especially

where we have had to split polling districts, we may be out by a handful of voters

on the 2012 figures and have had to assume uniform change throughout polling

districts when extrapolating our 2019 figures.

The unnecessary division of Aylestone

In our previous representation, we argued for no change to Aylestone ward and

no change to Eyres Monsell ward. We wanted to leave Aylestone intact and the

community of Aylestone unbroken.

The Labour Party argued that the current division of the Saffron Estate between

the Eyres Monsell and Freemen wards along the A563 outer ring road needed to

be rectified. Unfortunately, the Labour Party’s proposed solution involved cutting

the neighbourhood and the community of Aylestone in half.

Aylestone is a historic settlement. In 1086 the Domesday Book stated that ‘there

are four mills in Aylestone’. St. Andrew's in Old Church Street is a fine Church,

the main construction periods for the Church date from the 13th, 14th and 15th

centuries. The parish of Aylestone became part of the City of Leicester in 1891.

The draft proposals would divide Aylestone along an irrational boundary. This

proposed boundary would slice through Aylestone Meadows Local Nature

Reserve; cutting through the Aylestone community and the catchment area for

Granby Primary School which is one of the two local primary schools in the ward.

From Aylestone Road, the boundary ploughs its way along the residential streets

of Duncan Road, Milligan Road and Burnaston Road. The Labour Party's proposed

boundary is arbitrary and, if adopted, would lead to confusion and uncertainty.

The draft boundary neither respects existing communities nor follows the clear

physical barriers such as Glenhills Way and Saffron Lane.

Aylestone ward as it is at present runs south from the city on either side of

Aylestone Road. This provides the backbone for the present ward and gives it

geographic and social integrity. The proposed boundary change would break the

backbone of the present community as it is proposed to run the boundary right

across Aylestone Road at about its midway point.

The proposed boundary change would also divide the communication links

which run along Aylestone Road serving the community; under the proposed

changes two wards would be involved in any activities relating to the

communication links rather than the one as at present.

At the last review in 2003 the Commission valued Aylestone Road as the spine of

the ward and the use of Glenhills Way and Saffron Lane as strong boundaries:

“Officers from the LGCE visited the area, and considered that the Labour Group’s

proposed Aylestone ward was well linked by the Aylestone Road, which runs

through the length of the ward, as well as utilising strong boundaries.”

“It was noted, however, that there was broad consensus in this area from all three

political groups in relation to the proposed use of Saffron Lane and Glenhills

Boulevard as boundaries and the LGCE concurred with this view.”

The community in Aylestone is very strong, therefore we thought that it was really

important that before we put forward any new proposals we should listen to the

views of local people. Local residents in Aylestone told us that although Aylestone

is geographically close to Eyres Monsell and Saffron they felt that there were no

obvious historical or community links with either of the other two adjacent wards.

They felt that the draft proposal took no account of the sense of community that

exists in Aylestone. Local residents told us that an artificial line drawn on a map

without any proper consideration for the social structures and the local

communities would never work. Residents told us that proposal appeared to be

insensitive and they believed that the community would be adversely affected by

the proposed mergers. Residents said that they did not understand the logic

behind the proposal to break up a community which has worked extremely well

for very many years.

The residents we spoke to said that they did not oppose the suggestion to reunite

the Saffron Estate into one ward, but they objected most strongly that this

reunification was proposed to take place at the expense of the existing

community in Aylestone ward. Local residents said that this was not at all fair.

Our proposals for Aylestone ward follow directly from the consultations and

meetings we have held with residents and community groups.

Our proposed Aylestone Ward

We propose a two member Aylestone ward, made-up from the existing Aylestone

ward less the area to the south of the A563 Soar Valley Way. We also propose that

part of the current Freemen ward to the south-west of a line drawn by the goods

railway line, Aylestone Road, Cavendish Road, and Saffron Lane form a new

Aylestone ward. While we deeply regret that we propose moving the residents

living in the Gilmorton Estate area into Eyres Monsell, but this does allow some

streets that were previously in Aylestone and the Aylestone Library building back

into a new Aylestone ward. The community in the northern part of the ward did

not welcome their move (in the previous review) from Aylestone into Freemen.

Our proposal has the benefit and opportunity to reunite this part of the

community into one Aylestone ward. Another benefit our proposal has is that it

brings all of the catchment area for Granby School into one ward.

Our proposed Eyres Monsell Ward

Our proposed 2 member Eyres Monsell ward consists of the existing Eyres

Monsell ward, less the area of the Saffron Estate to the north of the B5418

Stonesby Avenue, adding the Gilmorton Estate (which is now part of the

catchment area for Eyres Monsell primary school) from Aylestone. At the core of

the ward is the Eyres Monsell Estate. Its clear simple boundaries also include two

sections of the outer ring road – Soar Valley Way and Glenhills Way.

Our proposed Saffron and Freemen Ward

Our proposed 2 member Saffron and Freemen ward consists of the draft Saffron

and Aylestone Park ward, less the areas of Aylestone we propose should be in

Aylestone, and less the area to the south of Stonesby Avenue we propose should

stay in Eyres Monsell. It has the advantage of reuniting the Saffron Estate without

the disadvantage of splitting the community of Aylestone.

The unnecessary division of the New Parks Estate

Our first concern relates to the draft proposal for the proposed ‘Western’ ward

and how it isolates the eastern part of New Parks estate, which comprises

Stephenson Drive and Swannington Road, from the rest of its community.

Stephenson Drive and Swannington Road were built as part of New Parks estate

and, like the rest of the estate, are administered from the New Parks housing

office on Aikman Avenue. Residents consider themselves to be part of New Parks

and share the same issues, concerns and facilities as the community to their west.

Their support networks such as housing officers and maintenance services are

those of the estate. If annexed into the draft Fosse Ward, it will make residents

feel isolated.

This arrangement will also have a negative impact on efficient governance

because Councillors for Fosse ward would have no other estate housing in their

ward but would need to ensure they were fully aware of council housing issues.

They would need to attend housing meetings for the New Parks estate to ensure

they were properly representing their constituents.

A second problem we identified with the draft proposal for Western Ward is the

northern boundary with Beaumont Leys ward. The boundary along Bonney Rd,

part of Birkenshaw Rd, around Jowett Close and back to New Parks Boulevard is

very confused and leaves houses on Groby Road isolated at the edge of

Beaumont Leys ward.

A third issue with the draft Western Ward is the separation of the Eastern side of

Gimson Rd, Neville Rd, the adjacent section of Glenfield Rd, Sandhurst Rd and

Ashdown Rd from their community and including them in the proposed Fosse

ward. These streets are part of the community to the west of them and different

from the communities to the east.

A fourth issue, again with Western Ward, is one of loss of identity for more than

half of the electors in the proposed ward. Both the Western Park and Braunstone

Frith communities have very strong self identities which are not taken into

account in the wider ‘Western’ ward. This is at least partly acknowledged by the

Labour proposal in that Braunstone Frith would not want to be regarded as being

part of New Parks.

The Western Park community have regarded themselves as such for more than a

century and there is concern at the loss of this identity.

A fifth issue, albeit a relatively minor one, relates to the draft proposal for

Beaumont Leys Ward. The draft boundary appears to split the English Martyrs

school site as the school has been transferred to the draft Fosse ward but one of

its sports pitches remains in Beaumont Leys ward at its South Eastern boundary.

We believe that the following amendments to the draft proposals are fully in line

with the Boundary Commission’s stated aims and, in addressing the issues

identified, would make significant improvements to the draft publication affecting

these four wards.

Our proposed Abbey Ward

Abbey Ward has been amended to reflect the revised boundary of the New Parks

and Fosse ward. It preserves existing communities and follows stronger and more

coherent boundaries.

The ward would continue to be represented by 3 councillors. The proposed

electorate will be 13,397 with an initial variance from target of 2% and a

projected variance of just 3% by 2019 which is well within the Commissions

target of 10%.

The southern boundary now follows Forest Way, just north of Tudor Road until it

reaches the boundary of our proposed New Parks & Fosse Ward on Fosse Road,

then north to Woodgate and west along Groby Road to the current boundary of

Beaumont Leys ward to south of English Martyrs school.

The area to the north of Groby Road, which is currently in Fosse ward, would

become part of Abbey Ward, as would the area from Bonchurch Street

northwards including Woodgate, Bradgate Street and the area up to

Ravensbridge Drive.

The Bonchurch Street-Dunton Street area is mainly terraced housing, a mixture of

owner occupier and rental. It is a self contained community which is slightly

different in character to the terraced streets to the south of it, many of the houses

having front gardens. The community looks toward Woodgate and Blackbird

Road for shopping and toward Abbey Park for recreation so it is a logical fit into

the new Abbey ward. The Woodgate area has its own Resource centre and a

strong Residents’ Association.

The area to the north of Groby Road, currently in Fosse ward, is mainly semi-

detached housing in private ownership which is very similar in style, outlook and

socio-economics to the area north of Anstey Lane. The area looks toward Abbey

Park for recreation and is very different in character to housing to the south of

Groby Road in Fosse ward.

We propose that the northern boundary of the amended Abbey Ward follow the

A563 Red Hill Way, a busy road which forms a natural boundary between the

communities of Stocking Farm to the south in Abbey Ward, and the Mowmacre

Hill Estate community to the north, which we propose to be in Beaumont Leys

Ward. Both the Stocking Farm and Mowmacre Hill communities have their own

neighbourhood centres and primary schools. They are both stable communities

with strong individual identities so a ward boundary along Red Hill Way is

entirely logical, It does not divide any communities and is stronger and more

identifiable than the one proposed in the draft publication.

Our proposed Beaumont Leys Ward

Our amended proposal for Beaumont Leys ward changes both the southern

boundary with New Parks and Fosse ward and the northern boundary with Abbey

ward to create an electorate of 13,679 which is an initial variance from city target

of 4% and a projected variance of just 4% by 2019 which is well within the

Commission’s target of 10%. The ward would continue to be represented by 3

councillors.

The southern boundary would exactly mirror the existing ward boundary,

following the A50 Groby Road rather than the very confused and unclear

boundary which appears in the draft proposal. The boundary in the published

draft weaves in and out of streets and effectively strands small groups of houses

on their own, whereas the current southern boundary has been in place for many

years, is clear, and works well.

The draft publication moves the South East boundary of the ward to the west of

English Martyrs School, transferring it into the neighbouring ward (currently

Fosse, but Abbey in our proposal). This change could cause governance

problems as the boundary seems to run between the school and one of its sports

pitches (south west of main buildings). The school would be in one ward and one

of its sports pitches would be in another. Our proposal is to retain the boundary in

its current position to the east of the school which maintains a clearer boundary

that does not split the site.

The proposed amendment to the northern boundary of Beaumont Leys ward with

Abbey Ward moves the boundary to the South of the Mowmacre Hill Estate to

follow Red Hill Way. As has been noted earlier in this rationale, the Mowmacre

Hill Estate is a distinct community in its own right with its own neighbourhood

centre and primary school which lies to the north of Red Hill Way.

The proposed amendments to Beaumont Leys ward will result in stronger and

simpler boundaries which better meet the Commission’s aim of wards which are

easily identifiable and do not break any local ties.

Our proposed New Parks and Fosse Ward

Our amended proposal creates a 3 member New Parks and Fosse ward which

includes the whole of New Parks estate and combines it with a well defined area

of largely 19th century terraced housing centred around the Fosse Recreation

ground containing a number of separate but very similar and closely linked

communities.

The electorate would be 12,742 with an initial variance from target of -3% and a

projected variance of just -2% by 2019, which is well within the Commission’s

target of 10%

The New Parks estate is mainly situated between Groby Road and Dominion

Rd/Glenfield Road with a small overspill to the south of Dominion Rd which then

joins seamlessly with the Braunstone Frith estate. Both areas are of similar age,

consist mainly of council housing or former council housing and share the same

socio-economic makeup. Both areas are administered from the same

neighbourhood housing office on Aikman Avenue in New Parks. The small

neighbourhood to the south of Dominion Road which is technically New Parks

tends to look to the park, the shops, facilities and neighbours in Braunstone Frith

rather than the rest of New Parks.

This small area shares the same support services as Braunstone Frith so it is

reasonable to draw a strong and clear ward boundary at Dominion Rd with New

Parks to the north and Braunstone Frith to the south. Drawing the boundary at this

point is also supported by the local Police. The Beaumont Leys LPU submission

suggests that Dominion Road would make “an ideal cutoff point” between the two

estates.

Our amended proposal for the ‘Fosse’ area will include Newfoundpool which has

its own neighbourhood centre and the area to the east of Fosse Road bounded by

Tudor Road which is also served by its own neighbourhood centre on Mantle

Road. The southern boundary is the A47 King Richards Road/Hinckley Road and

the Western boundary would be Woodville Road, Henley Road and Petworth

Drive. The area is a mixture of owner occupied and private rented

accommodation with many young families and a well established Polish

community. Residents within this area tend to use dentists, doctors and shops

located along the Fosse Rd and identify strongly with the centrally located Fosse

Recreation ground.

The included area of terraced housing between Glenfield Road and Hinckley

Road is a self contained but very similar community to the one to the north of the

recreation ground. It identifies with the Hinckley Road shopping parade which

forms its southern border and has very strong links to the adjacent Fosse

Recreation ground and with other services along Fosse Road so there are good

existing communication links with other parts of the proposed ward.

Communications within the proposed ward are very good with main roads and a

bus route running right through the centre of the ward along Aikman Avenue,

Henley Road and Fosse Road toward the city centre.

The proposed New Parks and Fosse ward has the following advantages over the

draft proposals.

It retains the identities of the areas included within the ward.

The estate community is kept together improving communication.

The new ward has strong and coherent boundaries, particularly Groby

Road to the north which improves the very confused boundary on the draft

proposal

New Parks estate is a physically large area with a high level of casework

and although the proposed Fosse area is densely populated, historically it

has a much lower level of casework, therefore our proposal for combined

New Parks and Fosse ward would form an appropriate case load for a 3

member ward.

Our proposed Western Park and Braunstone Frith Ward

Under the draft proposals the Western Park, Danehills and Braunstone Frith areas

would have been part of the proposed Western ward with most of the New Parks

estate. With our amended proposal to link the estate with the Fosse area to its east

there is a compelling case to create a 2 member Western Park and Braunstone

Frith ward. The ward would have an electorate of 8538 with an initial variance of

just -2% and a projected variance of 0% by 2019 which is exactly in line with the

Commission’s guidelines

Western Park has existed as a specific community since development

commenced to the west of the park soon after it opened in 1898. Residents very

strongly self identify this community as ‘Western Park’ and this was the

designated postal district name for the area before the advent of national

postcodes. The area consists of several very closely linked communities.

The core part of the area is bounded by The Park to the West, Hinckley Road to

the south, Glenfield Road to the north and Gimson Road to the East. This, as the

Labour submission correctly identified, is a mainly affluent area with large,

privately owned high value housing. This is a very stable community with 3 or 4

generations still living in the immediate area.

The area to the south of Hinckley Road, Ainsdale Road, Dorchester Road,

Wyngate Drive. consists largely of smaller, mostly pre-war, housing and is

increasingly being populated by younger families either staying in the area or

moving to it. This area considers itself to be part of the Western Park community

and many children attend the local Dovelands primary school which is in the

heart of the community. It is economically active and relatively affluent.

The area to the north of Glenfield Road comprising Hilders Road, Lindfield Road,

the extended Letchworth Road consists of owner occupied, mainly semi detached

housing. It is largely occupied by younger families and strongly considers itself

part of the Western Park community. Most children attend Dovelands primary

school on Hinckley Road and residents attend functions at St. Annes parish hall, in

the centre of the core area on Letchworth Road. Like the Ainsdale and Dorchester

area, this area is economically active and relatively affluent. The area has no

council provided community facilities and activities are centred around St. Annes

church hall on Letchworth Road, on the park itself, or at Dovelands Primary

School on Eastfield Road. There is a strong “Friends of Western Park” group

based in the area and also several closely linked neighbourhood watch areas

which helps make this a close knit community.

The Danehills area of Glenfield Rd from Westfield Rd down to Henley Rd and the

closes off is mainly owner-occupied, with the exception of the flats on Sandhurst

Road. This also identifies strongly as part of the Western Park community. This is

also true of Sandhurst Close and Ashdown Avenue where over an extended

period (1992-2011) casework has consistently reflected the same concerns as

residents further to the west i.e. traffic on Glenfield Road, use of the convent,

Parking issues due to development on Glenfield Road.

To the West of Western Park is a small private development consisting of Park

View and the streets off. Many residents consider this to be an extension of the

Western Park area on the other side of the park. It has a different character to the

surrounding area and does not associate itself with the New Parks estate.

Braunstone Frith is a mixture of privately owned, council and housing association

properties. It has its own strong identity which is separate to that of the New Parks

estate and also has its own community centre and Primary school, created when

the infant and rapidly improving junior schools were merged recently.

Additionally there is a thriving industrial area along Scudamore Road.

Our amended proposal creates a new 2 member Western Park and Braunstone

Frith Ward it will consist of the Western Park community to the east of the park,

the Park View community to the immediate west of the park and the Braunstone

Frith community plus industrial estate beyond.

The resulting ward will keep existing communities and their sense of

identities intact.

Communications across the ward will be good as communities have the

park in common. There are good cycle routes, main roads and bus routes

which link communities both sides of the park. Residents also share joint

organisations such as the Western Park user group and Friends of Western

Park.

The existing western Park area historically has a relatively low level of

casework and the Braunstone Frith area a significantly higher one so the

resulting combined ward will form an appropriate case load for a 2

member ward.

The proposed ward name takes account of the fact that both residents of

Western Park and of Braunstone Frith have a fierce attachment to the

identity of their respected areas, the combined name reflects this.

The unnecessary division of the Belgrave, Highfields, Northfields and Rushey

Mead communities

In following the Labour Party proposals in the northern part of the city, the

Commission has opted to hold to a constituency boundary rather than to a strong

geographical one. The obvious strong boundary in this area is the railway line. It

is better for the railway line to be a ward boundary for its whole length from the

Swain Street bridge northwards than for it to be crossed twice.

The consequence of this is that four communities are unnecessarily divided in the

draft proposals. With the area to the south of the constituency boundary

qualifying for four councillors, this means two two-member wards, leading to the

division of the neighbourhood of Highfields along Melbourne Road. A northern

breach of the railway line leads to an arbitrary chunk of Rushey Mead being

shuffled eastwards. Belgrave is then divided along Melton Road, its main

shopping centre. Northfields, which was previously divided along Gipsy Lane,

misses the chance to be completely reunited as a southern slice, including its

Neighbourhood Centre, is cut off by the draft boundary.

Our proposed Belgrave Ward

Our proposed 2 member Belgrave is identical to the existing Belgrave ward. It is

centred on Melton Road which is its local shopping centre. The area of Belgrave

which the draft proposals move to Rushey Mead looks west to Melton Road, rather

than north, across Rushey Fields to Rushey Mead. The area of Belgrave which the

draft proposals join with the existing Latimer ward looks east to Melton Road as

its shopping centre. Our proposals put the community of Belgrave back together

again.

Our proposed Latimer Ward

Our proposed 3 member Latimer consists of the existing Latimer ward with the

addition of that part of the existing Spinney Hills ward which is to the west of the

railway line. The existing Latimer ward is centred on Belgrave Road (which was

the road to Belgrave) which is a major centre for jewellery, clothing and eating

out, as well as a local shopping centre. The area we propose to add is basically

the St. Matthews Estate. It has easy communications north to Belgrave Road. It is

separated from the rest of the draft Wycliffe ward by the railway line and by a

wide swathe of industrial and retail development.

Our proposed North Evington Ward

Our proposed 3 member North Evington is based on the draft Green Lane ward,

less its northernmost fringe (using Hastings Road, Overton Road, Bramall Road,

Layton Road, the disused railway line, and Uppingham Road as a boundary), thus

repairing the injury to Northfields, and adding that part of the draft Spinney Hills

ward to the east of Gedding Road and Evington Valley Road. While Green Lane

Road is one of the ward’s local shopping centres, Green Lane is not a sensible

ward name. The green lane was historically a droving route for bringing sheep

into Leicester for market. It extended a lot further into what is still countryside.

Our proposed Northfields Ward

Our proposed 2 member Northfields is based on the draft Troon ward, less the

chunk of Rushey Mead to the west of the railway line, and adding that part of the

draft Green Lane ward taken to repair the damage to the community of

Northfields. Troon is not a sensible ward name. We can find no evidence that

local people identify with an industrial estate. Estate agents seem to call the area

near the industrial estate Thurmaston.

Our proposed Rushey Mead Ward

Our proposed 2 member Rushey Mead is made up of that part of the existing

Rushey Mead ward to the west of the railway line. The draft Rushey Mead

includes a large portion of Belgrave to the south of Rushey Fields, but does not

include a portion of Rushey Mead itself. The community of Rushey Mead is

centred on Gleneagles Avenue and Nicklaus Road. The draft ward has Nicklaus

Road as a ward boundary.

Our proposed Spinney Hills ward

Our proposed 3 member Spinney Hills is made up of that part of the existing

Spinney Hills ward to the east of the railway line and to the west of Gedding Road

and Evington Valley Road. It therefore repairs the damage done to the

community of Highfields which is split between the draft Spinney Hills and the

draft Wycliffe along Melbourne Road. Melbourne Road is the heart of the

Highfields neighbourhood. Highfields Library, Highfields Community Centre,

Highfields Primary School, Uplands Infant and Junior Schools, and the Highfields

shopping centre (including the Islamabad supermarket) are all situated on the

western side of Melbourne Road, but all cater to the needs of the community on

both sides.

The appropriateness of proposed ward names

We believe that local communities are best placed to propose names for their

wards. Having said this, there are some draft wards which, even if the

Commission is minded to leave boundaries unchanged, might benefit from name

changes:

Aylestone and Eyres Monsell: the name wrongly suggests the whole of Aylestone,

rather than half, is included. We would propose: Aylestone South and Eyres

Monsell.

Belgrave: over half of the Belgrave neighbourhood is in the draft Rushey Mead

ward. We would propose: Latimer and Belgrave West.

Green Lane: given that the green lane extended from the city centre for many

miles, it would be better to name the ward after a neighbourhood. We propose:

North Evington.

Rushey Mead: Not all of Rushey Mead is included, but over half of Belgrave is. We

would propose: Rushey Mead and Belgrave East.

Saffron and Aylestone Park: the name wrongly suggests that Aylestone Park is a

separate location from Aylestone. We would propose: Aylestone North and

Saffron.

Troon: naming a ward after an industrial estate is not ideal. We would propose:

Northfields.

Western: the weakness of the ward name is indicative of the weakness of the

ward. Having split the New Parks Estate in three, it is difficult to name a ward after

it. We would propose: Western Park.

Wycliffe: it is difficult to see what the draft Wycliffe ward is named after. Wycliffe

Street is in the city centre in Castle ward. There was a Wycliffe ward prior to the

last review, but it covered a rather different area. We would propose: Highfields

West and St. Matthews.

  1

Response to Boundary Commission Draft proposals for boundary 

changes within Leicester West 

Submitted by:  Peter Coley 

Chair, Leicester West Liberal Democrats 

on behalf of: 

Leicester Liberal Democrats 

 

Please note that this online response is part of a larger citywide paper response being 

submitted separately by the Leicester parties.  It is restricted to issues and proposed 

amendments to the draft affecting 4 wards in the west of the City. All details contained here 

will be included in the paper submission.  

 

We have given your draft proposals for Leicester West a great deal of consideration. We 

have sought advice and input from members who have represented these areas for 

considerable periods in the past to ensure any proposals we make are workable. 

In order to address the issues we identified, we are proposing a number of changes to 

ensure that your criteria of better reflecting the communities and more effective and 

convenient governance are met. 

The draft proposals for Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields Ward and Wescotes Ward seem 

credible and we support the proposals for these 2 wards as presented in your draft plan. 

Remaining Leicester West wards would be altered under our amended proposals to address 

the issues raised below. 

Our first concern relates to the draft proposal for the proposed ‘Western’ ward and how it 

isolates the eastern part of New Parks estate, which comprises Stephensons Drive and 

Swannington Road, from the rest of its community.  

Stephensons Drive & Swannington Road  have a mixture of council housing and former 

council housing. They were built as part of New Parks estate and, like the rest of  estate, are 

administered from The  New Parks housing office on Aikman Ave. Residents consider 

themselves to be part of New Parks and share  the same issues, concerns and facilities as 

the community to their west. Their support networks such as housing officers and 

maintenance services are those of the estate. If annexed into the draft Fosse Ward which is 

privately owned/rented accommodation it will make residents feel isolated. 

This arrangement will also have a negative impact on efficient governance because 

Councillors for Fosse ward would have no other estate housing in their ward but would need 

to ensure they were fully aware of council housing issues. They would need to attend 

housing meetings for the New Parks estate to ensure they were properly representing their 

constituents. 

  2

A second problem we identified with the draft proposal for Western Ward is the northern 

boundary with Beaumont Leys ward. The boundary along Bonney Rd, part of Birkenshaw Rd, 

around Jowett Close and back to New Parks Boulevard is very confused and leaves odd 

houses on Groby Rd isolated at the edge of Beaumont Leys ward. 

A third issue with the draft Western Ward is the separation of the Eastern side of Gimson 

Rd, Neville Rd, the adjacent section of Glenfield Rd, Sandhurst Rd and Ashdown Rd from 

their community and including them in the proposed Fosse ward.  These streets are part of 

the community to the west of them and different from the communities to the east.    

A fourth issue, again with Western Ward, is one of loss of identity for more than half of the 

electors in the proposed ward. Both the Western Park and Braunstone Frith communities 

have very strong self identities which are not taken into account in the wider ‘Western’ 

ward. This is at least partly acknowledged by the Labour proposal in that Braunstone Frith 

would not want to be regarded as being part of New Parks. 

The Western Park community have regarded themselves as such for more than a century 

and there is concern at the loss of this identity.  

A fifth issue albeit a relatively minor one relates to the draft proposal for Beamont Leys 

Ward. is that the draft boundary appears to split the English Martyrs school site as the 

school has been transferred to the draft Fosse ward but one of its sports pitches remains in 

Beaumont Leys ward at its South Eastern boundary.  

We believe that the following amendments to the draft proposals are fully in line with the 

Boundary Commissions stated aims and, in addressing the issues identified, would make 

significant improvements to the draft publication affecting Leicester West. 

 

  3

Amended proposals for Leicester West wards to resolve concerns 

whilst meeting Boundary Commissions requirements 

 

New Parks & Fosse Ward 

Our amended proposal creates a 3 member combined “New Parks  and Fosse” Ward which 

includes the whole of New Parks estate and combines it with a well defined area of largely 

19th century terraced housing centred around the Fosse Recreation ground containing a 

number of separate but very similar and closely linked communities. 

The electorate would be 12,742 with an initial variance from target of ‐3% and a projected 

variance of just ‐2% by 2019, which is well within the Commissions target of 10% 

The New Parks estate is mainly situated between Groby Rd and Dominion Rd/Glenfield Rd 

with a small overspill to the south of Dominion Rd which then joins seamlessly with the 

Braunstone Frith estate. Both areas are of similar age, consist mainly of council housing or 

former council housing and share the same socio economic makeup. Both areas are 

administered from the same neighbourhood housing office on Aikman Ave in New Parks. 

The small neighbourhood to the south of Dominion Rd which is technically New Parks tends 

to look to the park, the shops, facilities and neighbours in Braunstone Frith rather than the 

rest of New Parks.  

This small area shares the same support services as Braunstone Frith so it is reasonable to 

draw a strong and clear ward boundary at Dominion Rd with New Parks to the north and 

Braunstone Frith to the south.   

Drawing the boundary at this point is also supported by the local Police. The Beaumont Leys 

LPU submission suggests that Dominion Rd would make “an ideal cutoff point” between the 

2 estates. 

 Our amended proposal for the ‘Fosse’ area will include Newfoundpool which has its own 

neighbourhood centre and the area to the east of Fosse Rd bounded by Tudor Rd which is 

also served by its own neighbourhood centre on Mantle rd. The southern boundary is King 

Richards Rd/Hinckley Rd and the Western boundary would be Woodville Rd, Henley Rd and 

Petworth Drive. The area is a mixture of owner occupied and private rented accommodation 

with many young families and a well established Polish community. Residents within this 

area tend to use dentists, doctors and shops located along the Fosse Rd and identify 

strongly with the centrally located Fosse Recreation ground.  

The included area of terraced housing between Glenfield Rd and Hinckley Rd is a self 

contained but very similar community to the one to the north of the recreation ground. It 

identifies with the Hinckley Rd shopping parade which forms its southern border and has 

very strong links to the adjacent Fosse Recreation ground and with other services along 

Fosse Rd so there are good existing communication links with other parts of the proposed 

ward. 

  4

Overall Communications within the proposed ward are very good with main roads and a bus 

route running right through the centre of the ward along Aikman Ave, Henley Rd and Fosse 

Rd toward the city centre.  

 The proposed New Parks and Fosse ward has the following advantages over the draft 

proposals. 

It retains the identities of the areas included within the ward. 

 The estate community is kept together improving communication. 

The new ward has strong and coherent boundaries, particularly Groby Rd to the 

north which  improves the very confused boundary on the draft proposal  

New Parks estate is a physically large area with a high level of casework and although 

the proposed Fosse area is densely populated, historically it has a much lower level 

of casework, therefore our proposal for combined New Parks and Fosse ward would 

form an appropriate case load for a 3 member ward.  

 

Western Park and Braunstone Frith ward 

Under the draft proposals the Western Park, Danehills and Braunstone Frith areas would 

have been part of the proposed Western ward with the New Parks estate. With our 

amended proposal to link the estate with the Fosse area to its east there is a compelling 

case to create a 2 member Western Park and Braunstone Frith ward.  The ward would have 

an electorate of 8538 with an initial variance of just ‐2% and a projected variance of 0% by 

2019 which is exactly in line with the Commissions guidelines 

Western Park has existed as a specific community since development commenced to the 

west of the park soon after it opened in 1898.  Residents very strongly self identify this 

community as ‘Western Park’ and this was the designated postal district name for the area 

before the advent of national postcodes. The area consists of several very closely linked 

communities. 

 The core part of the area is bounded by The Park to the West, Hinckley Rd to the south, 

Glenfield Rd to the north and Gimson Rd to the East. 

This, as the Labour submission correctly identified, is a mainly affluent area with large, 

privately owned high value housing. This is a very stable community with 3 or 4 generations 

still living in the immediate area.  

The area to the south of Hinckley Rd, Ainsdale Rd, Dorchester Rd, Wyngate Dr. consists 

largely of smaller, mostly pre‐war, housing and is increasingly being populated by younger 

families either staying in the area or moving to it. This area considers itself to be part of the 

Western Park community and many children attend the local Dovelands primary school 

which is in the heart of the community. It is economically active and relatively affluent.  

 

  5

The area to the north of Glenfield Rd comprising Hilders Rd, Lindfield Rd, the extended 

Letchworth Rd consists of owner occupied, mainly semi detached housing. It is largely 

occupied by younger families and strongly considers itself part of the Western Park 

community. Most children attend Dovelands primary school on Hinckley Rd and residents 

attend functions at St Annes parish hall, in the centre of the core area on Letchworth Rd. 

Like the Ainsdale, Dorchester area this area is economically active and relatively affluent. 

The area has no council provided community facilities and activities are centred around St 

Annes church hall on Letchworth Rd, on the park itself or at Dovelands Primary school on 

Eastfield Rd. There is a strong “Friends of Western Park”  group based in the area and also 

several closely linked neighbourhood watch areas which helps make this a close knit 

community. 

The Danehills area of Glenfield Rd from Westfield Rd down to Henley Rd and the closes off  

is mainly owner occupied, with the exception of the flats on Sandhurst Rd. This also 

identifies strongly as part of the Western Park community. This is also true of Sandhurst 

Close and Ashdown Avenue where over an extended period (1992‐2011) casework has 

consistently reflected the same concerns as residents further to the west i.e. traffic on 

Glenfield Rd, use of convent, Parking issues due to development on Glenfield Rd.  

To the West of Western Park is a small private development consisting of Park View and the 

streets off. Many residents consider this to be an extension of the Western Park area on the 

other side of the park. It has a different character to the surrounding area and does not 

associate itself with the New Parks estate. 

Braunstone Frith is a mixture of privately owned, council and housing association 

properties. It has its own strong identity which is separate to that of the New Parks estate 

and also has its own community centre and Primary school, created when the infant and 

rapidly improving junior schools were merged recently.   Additionally there is a thriving 

industrial area along Scudamore road. 

 

Our amended proposal creates a new 2 member Western Park and Braunstone Frith Ward 

it will consist of the Western Park community to the east of the park, the Park View 

community to the immediate west of the park and the Braunstone frith community plus 

industrial estate beyond. 

The resulting ward will keep existing communities and their sense of identities intact.  

Communications across the ward will be good as communities have the park in 

common. There are good cycle routes, main roads and bus routes which link 

communities both sides of the park.  Residents also share joint organisations such as 

the Western Park user group and Friends of Western Park. 

 

  6

The existing western Park area historically has a relatively low level of casework and 

the Braunstone Frith area a significantly higher one so the resulting combined ward 

will form an appropriate case load for a 2 member ward.  

The proposed ward name takes account of the fact that both residents of Western 

Park and of Braunstone Frith have a fierce attachment to the identity of their 

respected areas, the combined name reflects this. 

 

 

Abbey Ward 

Abbey Ward has been amended to reflect the revised boundary of the New Parks & Fosse 

ward. It preserves existing communities and follows stronger and more coherent 

boundaries. 

The ward would continue to be represented by 3 councillors  

The proposed electorate will be 13,397 with an initial variance from target of 2% and a 

projected variance of just 3%  by 2019 which is well within the Commissions target of 10%. 

 

The southern boundary now follows Forest Way, just north of Tudor Rd till it reaches the 

boundary of our proposed New Parks & Fosse Ward on Fosse Rd, then north to Woodgate 

and west along Groby Rd to the current boundary of Beaumont Leys ward to south of 

English Martyrs school. 

The area to the north of Groby road, which is currently in Fosse ward now, becomes part of 

Abbey Ward, as does the area from Bonchurch St northwards including Woodgate, Bradgate 

St and the area upto Ravensbridge Drive. 

The Bonchurch St‐Dunton St area is mainly terraced housing, a mixture of owner occupier 

and rental. It is a self contained community which is slightly different in character to the 

terraced streets to the south of it, many of the houses having front gardens. The community 

looks toward Woodgate and Blackbird Rd for shopping and toward Abbey Park for 

recreation so it is a logical fit into the new Abbey ward. The Woodgate area has its own 

Resource centre and a strong Residents Association. 

The area to the north of Groby road, currently in Fosse ward, is mainly semi detached 

housing in private ownership which is very similar in style, outlook and socio economics to 

the area north of Anstey Lane. The area looks toward Abbey Park for recreation and is very  

different in character to housing to the south of Groby Rd in Fosse ward. 

The northern boundary of the amended Abbey Ward will now follow RedHill way, a busy 

road which forms a natural boundary between the communities of Stocking Farm to the 

south in Abbey Ward, and the Mowacre Estate community to the north, which will now be 

in Beaumont Leys Ward.  Both The Stocking Farm and Mowacre communities have their 

  7

own Neighbourhood centres and Primary schools. They are both stable communities with 

strong individual identities so a ward boundary along Redhill way is entirely logical, It does 

not divide any communities and is stronger and more identifiable than the one proposed in 

the draft publication.   

Please note that creating the boundary along Redhill Way entailed splitting 2 existing polling 

districts, ABB and ABD we used current electoral data to determine the apportionment of 

electors within these areas (please see note on page 9). 

 

Beaumont Leys ward 

Our amended proposal for Beaumont Leys ward changes both the southern boundary with 

New Parks & Fosse ward and the northern boundary with Abbey ward  to create an 

electorate of 13,679 which is an initial variance from city target of  4% and a projected 

variance  of just 4%  by 2019 which is well within the Commissions target of 10%.  

The ward would continue to be represented by 3 councillors. 

The southern boundary would exactly mirror the existing ward boundary, following the A50 

Groby Rd rather than the very confused and unclear boundary which appears in the draft 

proposal. The boundary in the published draft weaves in and out of streets and effectively 

strands small groups of houses on their own, whereas the current southern boundary has 

been in place for many years, is clear and works well. 

The draft publication moves the South East boundary of the ward to the west of English 

Martyrs School, transferring it into the neighbouring ward (currently Fosse but Abbey in our 

proposal). This change could cause governance problems as the boundary seems to run 

between the school and one of its sports pitches (south west of main buildings).  The school 

would be in one ward and one of its sports pitches would be in another. 

Our proposal is to retain the boundary in its current position to the east of the school which 

maintains a clearer boundary that does not split the site.   

 The proposed amendment to the northern boundary of Beamont Leys ward with Abbey 

Ward moves the boundary to the South of the Mowacre Estate to follow RedHill way.  

As has been noted earlier in this rationale, the Mowacre Estate is a distinct community in its 

own right with its own neighbourhood centre and primary school which lies to the north of 

Redhill way.  

The proposed amendments to Beamont Leys ward  will result in stronger and simpler 

boundaries which better meet the Boundary Commissions aim of wards which are easily 

identifiable and do not break any local ties. 

 

 

  8

 

 

Copy of amended ward boundaries as submitted online