Frequently Asked Questions
Who is leading the consultation?
Cheshire West and Chester Shadow Authority are consulting on new areas.
Why are we changing boundaries?
From April 2009, a new unitary authority known as Cheshire West and Chester will cover the existing areas covered by Vale Royal Borough Council, Chester City Council and Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council.
Area programme boards will introduce new ways of working at a local level and will enable neighbourhood issues and aspirations to be developed into action plans.
What is an area programme board?
Area programme boards will be partnernship boards including Local Councillors, Public, Private and Third Sector who will develop area action plans for priority needs identified by local communities and scrutinise local service delivery.
What are the neighbourhood arrangements?
This will differ across the Cheshire West and Chester area. Neighbourhood arrangements could be Neighbourhood management areas eg Blacon in Chester, Market town partnerships eg Frodsham Forward, Town and Parish Councils or any other community based partnership.
How have the boundary proposals been identified?
The two maps which we are consulting people on have been chosen in the following ways. However, if you wish to suggest an alternative please respond via the consultation survey.
Various patterns of existing service provision have been identified and we are seeking views on how services could relate to any form of area working. A key consideration was the location of Educational Improvement Partnerships which are partnerships of schools working together and the location Children's centre.
Both maps are slightly different as proposal A focuses on unitary ward boundaries and proposal B on Middle Level Super Output areas (The areas used to produce census statistics).
Proposal A
The map based on ward boundaries has been developed as a fundamental principle of the areas is that all of the elected members (councillors) for each area would be a member of the Area Programme Board. Considerations have been:
- Areas configured based upon the ward boundaries
- The requirement that areas need enough commonality with the respective neighbourhoods to be large enough to fulfil the role of informing strategic policy
However, one of the disadvantages of this approach is the mix of urban and rural areas for example Boughton Heath and Vicars Cross and the relationship to Chester, also the boundaries will be reviewed by the Boundary Commission within the next two years.
Proposal B
The second proposal considered is based on Middle Level Super Output Areas. The boundaries are guaranteed for the next 15 years. A wide range of information is available at this level enabling clear performance management for areas. A major disadvantage of this option is that the boundaries, although close to, do not coincide with political ward boundaries. This may mean some crossover for local councillors.
Can the boundaries on the two maps be changed?
The maps are examples of how area programme boards could operate. Cheshire West and Chester Members are looking for the views of the community prior to any decision being made. There are resource implications to any approach and it is intended that there would be between six and nine area programme boards in total.
When is the closing date?
The closing date for comments is 30 September 2008. This is to enable area programme boards to be operational from 1 April 2009.
When will a decision be made?
A final recommendation to the Shadow Authority will be required by November at the latest to enable any form of area working to be in place by 1 April 2009.
Last modified: 22 December 2008
