Interim Review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations 2022

To ensure they are:

• available
• fit for purpose
• suitable for any of the provisions contained within the Elections Act 2022

Before local government (borough council) elections in May 2023.

What are polling districts, polling places and polling stations?

Polling districts

Polling districts are the geographical areas into which council wards are divided.

Polling places

Polling places are the locations or buildings that contain polling stations

When the council decides which buildings to use as polling places we strive to ensure that they are:

• located as conveniently as possible within the polling district
• accessible to everyone, particularly for disabled people

Polling station

This is the room or area within the polling place where voting takes place.

How long will the review take?

The review began on Monday, 18 July 2022.

We published a notice of interim review of:

• polling districts
• polling places
• polling stations

From Monday 18 July 2022 until Friday 2 September 2022, we will be seeking views on our existing:

• polling districts
• polling places
• polling stations

We encourage views and representations from:

• community groups
• organisations
• head teachers
• elected representatives
• any person or body with expertise in access for people with any type of disability

We also encourage anyone entitled to vote in Darlington to:

• make representations.
• tell us of any issues with current polling stations
• make suggestions for alternative venues

We will then draft our final proposals based on the representations received.

The proposals are balanced against the criteria and guidance provided by the Electoral Commission.

We will also take into consideration the comments and views of the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer's comments on our existing Polling Places as at the 2018 Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Station Review. 

Results of our initial consultation

During our initial consultation exercise, we received two representations regarding our Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations:

Polling Station No. 7 - St John’s Church of England Academy

The Presiding Officer at St John’s Church of England Academy submitted the following comments: 

‘My only comment on polling station number 7, at St John’s Church of England Academy, concerns the room size. It isn’t really big enough, there’s not much space left once tables, chairs and the voting booth are in. There’s some school items and furniture that are left in the room too. It’s not great for wheelchair users, I seem to recall there’s a slight step/rise to the floor level of the room and the door is barely wide enough.’ 

An inspection of the premises was conducted on 28th July 2022, and Officers concluded that the room was big enough, should the school items and furniture be removed.

Should disabled elector struggle to enter through the door, an alternative access through the Main Reception Area should be used.

As the school remains central to the main residential area with the Polling District, and as no further suitable venues within the Polling District have been identified, we are continuing to propose that St John’s Church of England Academy serve as the Polling Place in Polling District BLD. 

Polling Station No. 57 and 58 – Middleton St. George Women’s Institute Hall

One of the Ward Councillors for the Sadberge and Middleton St George Ward submitted the following representation: 

‘We would like to request that the Polling Station for Middleton St George reverts back to using the Community Centre and not the W.I. Hall. At the last election there was several complaints that residents had to queue and many unable to get in to vote, consequently we lost a lot of votes. If you need further help or support with this please let us know and we can help. The Management Committee of the Community Centre are more than willing to accommodate.’ 

An inspection of Middleton St George Community Centre was conducted on 26th July 2022, and Officers concluded that the premises would be acceptable as a Polling Place.

Whilst the Middleton St. George Women’s Institute Hall is certainly a suitable venue, it lacks car parking, whereas the Middleton St. George Community Centre can offer parking for approximately 20 cars.

We are therefore minded to recommend a change to the Polling Place in Middleton St George, and use the Middleton St George Community Centre.

In addition to the two representations above, we also remained mindful of recent Government requests around the use of schools, and previously expressed views by some Headteachers.

With these thoughts in mind, are minded to recommend a change from John Caden Hall at Carmel College (Polling Stations No. 26 and 27) to Salutation Hall on Salutation Road, which worked well during the Coronavirus pandemic, and recommend a change from Holy Family R. C. Primary School (Polling Station No. 8) to Cockerton Library, which again was used as an alternative Polling Place during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Another change which worked well during the Coronavirus pandemic was the change from using two classrooms in the Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (Polling Stations No. 11 and 12) to the Sports Pavilion on Abbey Road Sports Field. Having discussed these arrangements with the Principal at the Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, we are minded to make the change permanent. 

We also discovered that Great Stainton Church Hall, Glebe Road, Great Stainton (Polling Station No. 53) no longer existed, necessitating a change to the Polling Place.

Taking these representations and views into consideration, and giving consideration to the recommendations contained within the Parliamentary Boundary Review 2023, we reviewed our findings between Monday, 5th September 2022 and Friday, 16th September 2022, and have revised our draft proposals, which are now set out below. 

Proposed Polling Places and Polling Stations 2022/2023

We will submit our final recommendations to an Ordinary Meeting of the Council on Thursday, 24 November 2022.