Parish Poll

For more than a decade now the Village has been divided between those that believe there is majority support for a Skatepark within the village and those that believe there is not. As part of the setup of the Skatepark Working Party the decision was taken to put the result to a Parish Poll to, once and for all, determine exactly what the support was in the village for a specific proposal. 

The words specific is key; "Do you want a skatepark in the village?" usually results in a very high "Yes" response rate, however, it isn't clear what this means and what exactly this "Yes" result requires the Parish Council to do.

Looking at the legislation a meeting can be called in a Parish Meeting (a Parish Meeting is distinct from a Parish Council meeting - 6 residents can call for a Parish Meeting on a specific issue). When 10 (or more) people present at a Parish Meeting ask for a question to be put to the electorate it must be. The voting at a Parish Meeting is only about the question to be asked, not the calling of the vote itself. A useful guide to the legislation is available here (AskYourCouncil website).

Once a designs, costings, etc. have been completed the result will be put to the village in a mini-referendum (Parish Poll) for the village to decide.

The factsheet (as included as REF2 for meeting SP004 12th June 2022) is reproduced below;

What is a Parish Poll?

A parish poll is a ballot of local electors (people on the electoral register) on a question affecting a parish. It is similar to a referendum on a local issue.

How is a Parish Poll requested?

The Local Government Act 1972 (sch. 12) allows a ballot to be called of local government voters on any question arising at a parish meeting (please note this is not the same as meeting of the parish council). A poll may be demanded with the consent of the person presiding at the meeting, or at the request of 10 electors or one third of those electors present (whichever is lower). The meeting must agree and vote on the wording of the question. Refer to the legislation for confirmation of what constitutes a parish meeting.

What question may be asked?

The wording on the ballot paper will be identical to the wording agreed at the meeting. The question must be answerable with yes/no answers and must not be ambiguous. The question should relate to parish affairs and must relate to a topic within the remit of the parish council. Once agreed at a meeting, the question cannot be changed.

Who organises the poll?

SCDC’s Returning Officer (RO) will be responsible for organising the poll. The person who presided over the parish meeting should provide the RO with; the agreed question to be put, the name and address of the proposer of the question and the date of the parish meeting. The RO may not grant a poll if the question affects other parishes or is devoid of practical application.

When will the poll be held?

If agreed, the RO will fix a date for the poll between 14 and 25 working days after the day on which the poll is demanded.

Are there any differences between Parish Polls and Elections?

Polling at Parish Polls may only take place between 16:00 and 21:00 on the appointed day. There will not be any poll cards, and there will be no provision for voting by post or proxy – all voting will take place at the designated polling station.

Who pays for the poll?

The cost of any Parish Poll will be borne by the relevant parish council. It may therefore be sensible to consult relevant parish councils when planning for a poll.

Is the result of the poll binding?

The result is not binding. It may only provide an indication of support or opposition to a local matter.

Parish Polls are pretty rare across the UK; however, on the 13th of June 2022 a Parish Poll was conducted in the Town of Whitby (then part of Scarborough Borough Council). The original website is no longer available, it looks like it might have moved in North Yorks Unitary Council, but the web page is returning "not found". 

Thankfully, details are still available on the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine).

The Notice of the Poll is available here. The two questions from which read;

• Should all new build and additional housing in Whitby Parish be restricted to full-time local occupation as a primary residence only and forever (in perpetuity)?

• Do you want to stay in the same area committee as Scarborough in the new North Yorkshire unitary council?

To give some idea of the timeline for a Parish Poll the original Parish Meeting (where the poll was demanded) was held on Thursday, 12th May 2022, the Notice of Poll was published on Friday, 27th May 2022, the list of polling stations was published on Monday, 30th May, the poll itself (and the count of votes) was held on Monday, 13th June 2022, and the results were published on Tuesday, 14 June 2022. This means the entire process from start to finish took a little over a calendar month.

The result? The first question had 2111 people voting yes, and 157 voting no, while the second question had 253 voting yes and 1982 voting no. The turnout was 22.72%. Full results are available here.

Interestingly when the results were considered by Full Council (on Tuesday, 05 Jul 2022) the officers conclusion was (from Page 47 of the Agenda);

Though neither question is directly within the power of the town council to act, there is an opportunity for this council to formally reiterate the expressed opinion of local residents and write to the borough and county councils asking for a direct statement addressing the issues raised. Council may also wish to consider if there is a wider community of interest in neighbouring communities, including but not limited to Sandsend and Robin Hoods Bay which might be engaged in promoting either outcome.

Recommendation: - That Council considers what action to take with the borough and county councils and with other organisations in response to the outcome of the parish poll.

Looking at the (draft) meeting minutes (Page 11) shows that this resulted in;

RESOLVED that Whitby Town Council write to all 6 Borough Councillors representing the Parish of Whitby, all members of the Planning & Development Committee, the Portfolio holder for “Stronger Communities and Housing” and the Council Leader asking “Will they follow through on the commitment they unanimously made at the meeting on 24 January to introducing a Primary Residency Scheme by putting it onto the agenda of either Full Council or the Planning & Development Committee with the aim of developing either a Primary Residency Scheme or other Housing Policy designed to solve the housing Crisis in light of the democratic mandate they have received from the people of Whitby on this matter.”1 abstention

It was agreed to ask two questions in the Bar Hill Parish Poll. These (from the Final Report) are;

• Do you want the Parish Council to build a skatepark for the benefit of the village?

• If sufficient independent funding cannot be obtained, would you be in favour of putting up to £1/month on the Council Tax for Band D properties to fund it?

These were suggestions for the Parish Council who will have the final decision regarding the questions.