REVIEW OF PART OF THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE COUNTIES OF CEREDIGION AND PEMBROKESHIRE IN THE AREA OF THE COMMUNITY OF ST. DOGMAELS
REPORT AND PROPOSALS
Appendix 1
Response of Ceredigion County Council to the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales Draft Proposals in respect of the Review of Part of the Boundary between the Counties of Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire in the Area of the Community of St. Dogmaels
1. Introduction
The Boundary Commission published its Draft Proposals in December 2000 and observations have been invited by 16 February 2001. The County Council acknowledged receipt of the Draft Proposals on 22 December 2000 and included in this letter its initial concerns that the Commission had not applied itself to the requirement to base its conclusions on effective and convenient local government. A reply to this letter, dated 17 January 2001 was received by the County Council, and copies of both letters have been sent by the Boundary Commission to Pembrokeshire County Council. The County Council, at its meeting held on 21st December 2000, authorised the Cabinet to prepare a response and this response has been prepared in accordance with that decision.
2. Observations on the Draft Proposals
The County Council believes that the Boundary Commission has not addressed the main issue, namely the provision of effective and convenient local government services in the combined St. Dogmaels village by one local authority.
As stated in the Draft Proposals, the County Council agrees that the village should be “combined within one authority” (Para. 3.3) and also notes that, in their original submissions, both this Authority and Pembrokeshire County Council have indicated that they “are confident that they would be able to provide an appropriate level of service to the combined village of St. Dogmaels” (Para. 3.13).
However, it takes issue with the reasons given in the following paragraphs of the Draft Proposals by the Boundary Commission for stating that the combined village should be placed within Pembrokeshire:
Para. 3.12
There are improvements in areas of service delivery listed in this paragraph, which, it is claimed, would follow if the combined village was located in Pembrokeshire. However, the same principle is true if Ceredigion administered the area.
Para. 3.13
Here it states that the Boundary Commission considers that “It is clear that some degree of cross-boundary provision of services would still be required whichever county the new community was in”. The County Council is at a loss to understand, should the combined village be placed in Ceredigion, which services its population would need to receive from Pembrokeshire County Council. It is the crux of the County Council’s case that the residents of the village currently turn to the town of Cardigan for services such as the library, leisure centre, swimming pool, secondary education etc and, with Ceredigion providing all the other services such as Social Services, Education, refuse collection, highways etc to a combined village, there would be no need for the population to be provided with any services at all by Pembrokeshire County Council, thus resulting in more effective and convenient local government. The Boundary Commission is therefore invited to clarify which services it believes Pembrokeshire would need to provide on a cross-boundary basis should the combined village be located in Ceredigion.
Para. 3.14
Here it states that the Boundary Commission considers that the level of council charges was not “a primary reason for wanting the combined village of St. Dogmaels to be included within Pembrokeshire”. However in Para. 2.15 there is a list of representations made by local residents, and the “perceived inequality within the village where Ceredigion residents pay a higher council tax than their Pembrokeshire neighbours” is listed as the SECOND point made by them. This hardly suggests that it isn’t one of the main reasons for them opting for the combined village to be placed in Pembrokeshire rather than Ceredigion.
Para. 3.16
Here it states that the Boundary Commission considers “that the river Teifi represents a clearly defined natural boundary between the counties of Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire”. However in the very next line this is contradicted as an immediate differentiation is made between areas lying south of the river:
- St. Dogmaels, it is stated, is located within “the area that is identified with Pembrokeshire”;
- Bridgend and its environs “however….is an integral part of Cardigan Town”; whilst a sliver of land on the eastern boundary with Pembrokeshire may be moved to the Cilgerran Community; and finally,
- Area C as shown in Appendix 7 doesn’t fit neatly into any convenient and effective package and, in the view of the Boundary Commission, may as well remain in Ceredigion.
The suggested break-up of the area south of the river Teifi, in the view of the County Council, is therefore highly inconsistent and does not lead itself to effective and convenient local government.
Also, in a previous paragraph - Para.3.6 - the Boundary Commission states the new boundary suggested by the St. Dogmaels Community Council, despite being south of the river Teifi, “would appear to form a convenient boundary between St. Dogmaels and Cardigan”. Does the Boundary Commission suggest that it is a convenient COUNTY boundary as well. It appears so. This again contradicts the case for the river Teifi being the natural boundary.
It appears to the County Council that the Boundary Commission has come to the conclusion, based on its assessment of the evidence, that the “sense of community” which it states exists between the residents of the village and the rural part of the St. Dogmaels Community carries more weight than the contention that the residents of the village and the wider community look to town of Cardigan for local government, social, recreational and cultural services as well as employment and shopping facilities. However, despite acknowledging that Ceredigion County Council is confident that it can provide the whole range of local government services to a combined village, it has not considered in a suitably rigorous manner that this would result in more effective and convenient local government and do away with the need for any cross boundary provision of services. In short, it is the County Council’s view that the Boundary Commission has given more weight to emotion than to effective and convenient local government. In addition, despite the assertion of the Boundary Commission, the level of Council Tax does appear to be a major factor in the case being made by the St. Dogmaels Community Council. The reference made in Para 2.15 to the difference between the Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire Council Tax levels has already been referred to above whilst the St. Dogmaels Community Council, in the conclusion to its submission, states that it “has a good record for managing both services and finances efficiently and as a result this year they have decided to reduce their precept by £2,000”. It is the contention of the County Council that the people currently living on the Pembrokeshire side of St. Dogmaels are regular users of the services provided by the Ceredigion County Council in Cardigan Town, and paid for by Ceredigion Council Tax payers, and that it is the intended purpose of the St. Dogmaels Community Council to wish to continue to see its people benefit from these services yet pay their Council Tax to another Authority. The people of St. Dogmaels would therefore benefit from paying lower Council Tax and still enjoy the services provided in Cardigan Town by the Ceredigion County Council and paid for by the people of Ceredigion.
Council Tax Levels
In any event, the differing Council Tax levels in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion are the product of a National formula, which is used to distribute resources between unitary Councils. The formula is designed to objectively reflect spending needs and relies on financial and non-financial data and the application of sophisticated statistical techniques. The formula is frequently reviewed (a major review has recently been completed) and future changes in this formula would result in a shift in Council Tax levels. It is unreasonable to assume that the current differential in Council Tax levels will continue indefinitely. Indeed, Ceredigion County Council has consistently set its Council Tax below the National Assembly guidelines in a clear financial strategy to reduce Council Taxes. In time, this is likely to result in an equalization of Council Taxes between the two authorities.
Currently, the people of St. Dogmaels make full use of the services provided by Ceredigion County Council. It is only reasonable for them to contribute to the costs of service provision. There is no evidence to suggest that this cost of service provision is higher in Ceredigion - on the contrary, it is the Revenue Support Grant distribution formula, which governs the level of Council Tax. It is undoubtedly more accountable if residents pay the Council, which provides the services. This is the essence of effective Local Government and public representation.
If St Dogmaels is transferred to Pembrokeshire, there will be a significant, and disproportionate switch of resources in favour of Pembrokeshire at the expense of the Council Tax payers of Ceredigion. The main services in Cardigan will continue to be provided and funded by Ceredigion and it cannot be equitable to expect the Council Taxpayers of Ceredigion to meet the additional tax burden.
3. Observations on the Boundary Commission Letter of 17 January 2001
Turning to the Boundary Commission letter of 17 January 2001, it is clear to the County Council that the Commission has again failed to give sufficient weight to the County Council’s case, as outlined above.
It notes that the Boundary Commission states that the County Council did not provide any evidence that losing part of its administrative area would be detrimental, in terms of effective and convenient local government, to the Authority as a whole. However, as stated above, it contends that the basis of its original argument is that it currently provides, under the existing arrangements, and would continue to provide, should the combined village be located in Pembrokeshire, a level of services to residents which is not matched by the payment of Council Tax by those same residents. The Boundary Commission proposals, by making more users of the Cardigan–based services Council Taxpayers in Pembrokeshire, would exacerbate the situation and create more inequality and bad feeling in the area.
In conclusion, the proposed changes will therefore have a detrimental effect on the ability of Ceredigion County Council to provide the current level of services throughout the County. It adversely affects effective and convenient Local Government not only in the environs of Cardigan but throughout the whole County.
Miss E. M. Bronwen Morgan
Director of Corporate and Legal Services
Ceredigion County Council
15th February 2001