Oct 26 Combined JW - Flipbook - Page 37
Write to Editor, Hayling Herald, 64 Elm Grove, Hayling Island PO11 9EF or editor@haylingherald.co.uk
Letters Hayling Herald
Back to the ballot box
Dear Editor,
THE push by Hayling Island
Residents’ Association (HIRA)
to establish a permanent Hayling
Island Parish Council has been
presented as vital to local democracy.
The justification was based on the
changing political landscape and
expected Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).
Recent developments, however,
have fundamentally changed that
position. Throughout 2024 and
2025, the Hayling Liberal Democrats and Greens campaigned for
a parish council on the basis that
Havant Borough Council would disappear under LGR, leaving Hayling
with reduced representation.
When the Community Governance Review (CGR) launched in
2026, the same argument remained:
Hayling needed a parish council
because Havant was supposedly
disappearing.
In summer 2026, councillors voted to establish the new parish coun-
cil. Residents were assured this was
not an additional layer of government because the borough council
was expected to disappear. That central premise has now changed.
In September 2026, the Government withdrew the Hampshire LGR
decision following updated legal
advice, placing the proposed reorganisation under review.
Havant Borough Council has
confirmed that it is not disappearing and that the May 2027 elections
will proceed on the existing council
boundaries.
Yet the parish council is still moving forward, leaving Hayling with
three layers of local government.
If the circumstances used to justify its creation have changed, surely
the decision deserves to be reconsidered.
Another important issue – what
did Hayling residents say during the
CGR consultation?
In the second phase, 55.6% voted
against creating a parish council,
compared with 41.3% in favour.
Despite that majority, Full Council
subsequently voted to proceed.
That raises an important democratic question: should councillors
proceed with a proposal when the
consultation’s second phase produced a clear majority against it?
There are also questions about the
reliability of the consultation evidence.
Tracking identified 73 separate
responses from a single IP address.
People can legitimately share an
internet connection, but such a
concentration would reasonably
warrant checking.
Havant Borough Council confirmed that online respondents
were not cross-referenced against
the electoral register, stating that
this was ‘not proportionate’. Consequently, the council cannot establish
that these responses represented
unique local electors.
This leaves legitimate questions
about the evidential weight placed
on the consultation.
A parish council is also a perma-
nent, tax-raising authority. From
the 2027–28 financial year, residents
will face a new Council Tax precept
to fund it. That financial commitment makes a sound evidence base
particularly important before proceeding with this permanent local
change.
Pausing is therefore not about denying residents the right to establish
a parish council.
It is about reconsidering the
decision in light of changed circumstances and allowing the government’s LGR review to conclude
before creating another tier of local
government.
If councillors will not reconsider
the decision, May 2027 provides
residents with an opportunity to
express their views at the ballot box.
Local democracy ultimately
belongs to the people who elect
their representatives not simply to
the decisions made inside council
chambers.
David Gainsford,
Hayling Island
A
bird’s
eye
view
Fears raised over foxes
Dear Editor,
I HAVE a request for those of you who feed the
foxes because you find them cute.
Some foxes might carry a parasite called Echinococcus. This parasite can lie dormant in the
human body and, after more than a decade, cause
diseases affecting organs such as the liver and
lungs. David Attenborough does not mention this
fact in his documentaries.
Foxes are not pets; they are wild animals. It is
my view that humans should not interfere with
the natural order of the animal kingdom. I ask
you once again – please do not feed the foxes.
Please dispose of leftover food in lidded trash
can bin because we, the humans, live in the United Kingdom, not in the animal kingdom, right?
Thank you for your attention of this matter.
Best Regards,
Keiko Shibata,
Hayling Island
Dear Editor,
MY son, Riley Desmond, aged 15, took this
picture on the way home from our holiday in
Greece/Corfu.
We think it’s great. Hope you do too.
Yours faithfully,
Chantelle Desmond,
Hayling Island
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