Community Governance Review - Dunstable

Overview

Dunstable parish has a town council. It is warded and has 18 seats on the council. The forecast development to March 2030 is estimated at a further 357 dwellings which will generate approximately an additional 611 residents over the next 5 years.

The parish boundary adjoins the neighbouring parishes of Caddington, Houghton Regis, Kensworth and Totternhoe. The parish wards are coterminous (i.e. they border each other in the same area) within the 5 Central Bedfordshire wards of the same names.

Election history and number of candidates

Seats and candidates for Dunstable Central Ward

Seats and candidates for Dunstable East Ward

Seats and candidates for Dunstable North Ward

Seats and candidates for Dunstable South Ward

Seats and candidates for Dunstable West Ward

As can be seen from the tables above there has been a contested election across all the wards since the creation of Central Bedfordshire.

Statutory changes since the 2017/18 review

The Central Bedfordshire Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2018 reduced the number of councillors for the parish of Dunstable from 21 to 18 (East (formerly Icknield) Ward from 5 to 4, North (formerly Northfields) Ward from 5 to 4 and West (formerly Watling) Ward from 5 to 4).

The Central Bedfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2021 amended the number of councillors for the parish wards of Dunstable (Central Ward from 3 to 2, East Ward from 4 to 5, South (formerly Manshead) Ward from 3 to 2, and West from 4 to 5).

Parish/town council initial proposal for consideration for the 2025 review

I am writing to confirm that Dunstable Town Council formally agreed this evening:

1.1 To request that CBC include the proposal to amend Dunstable’s parish boundary with Caddington Parish Council by incorporating land forming part of and also adjacent to the Downside Recreation Ground as laid out in Appendix 1.

1.2 To request that CBC include the proposal to amend the boundary with Caddington Parish Council by incorporating the land occupied by St Mary’s and Manshead Schools as laid out in Appendix 1.

1.3 To oppose the changed suggested by Totternhoe Parish Council to move the land depicted in Appendix 4 into Totternhoe’s parish boundary

Dunstable Town Council Working Group Proposals for the Community Governance Review

Proposal 1

To amend the parish boundary to include the land shown.

The land marked in purple is owned by Dunstable Town Council and is provided as part of the Downside Recreation Ground.

The land marked in red is agricultural land know as Cottage Bottom Field. The land is owned by CBC at present. Dunstable Town Council intend to purchase the land and develop a new cemetery on the site.

Operating a cemetery outside the parish boundary would not limit or affect the project – this would not change charges for Dunstable residents, for example. However, the Council’s Community Governance Review Working Group propose that it would make sense for land being used for a Dunstable facility to be moved to form part of the parish boundary.

None of the land includes any residential properties, nor is it likely to every be used for residential development.

Option 1 - satellite view

Option 1 showing current parish boundary

Option 2 - to amend the parish boundary to include the land shown in blue

This would mean that the land occupied by Manshead and St Mary’s Schools would be inside the Dunstable parish boundary. Dunstable Town Council’s Community Governance Review Working Group propose that this appears to be a common-sense change to reflect that the schools are adjacent to Dunstable and some distance from Caddington itself. It would make sense for land being used for a Dunstable facility to be moved to form part of the parish boundary.

None of the land includes any residential properties, nor is it likely to every be used for residential development.

Brian Dunleavy has confirmed that this would not involve a change to Central Bedfordshire Council ward boundaries, so the remit of Central Bedfordshire Council Members would be unchanged.

Lydia Braisher, Central Bedfordshire Council's Admissions Manager, has confirmed that: St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School does not operate a catchment area as admissions are primarily based on faith criteria. Manshead School’s catchment area, covers Dunstable, Caddington and the surrounding villages/hamlets, so any parish boundary change will not impact on the school’s catchment area as they should all be included within the catchment anyway.

Below is the catchment boundary of Manshead School which depicts the area covered

Appendix 4: Land requested to move to Totternhoe

Blue line is the current parish boundary. Hatched area is the proposed land to move into Totternhoe

Maps

View parish maps

Read about the consultation