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Community governance review of the civil parishes of Babraham and Sawston

Background information

At the request of Sawston Parish Council, we completed a Community Governance Review of the parish boundary between the parishes of Babraham and Sawston. The Review  considered whether the parish boundary should change following 2 new developments (both sites are allocated within the South Cambridgeshire District Plan, 2018):

  1. The development north of Babraham Road (called H/1:b) consists of 3.64 hectares and is entirely within the parish of Babraham, abutting existing Sawston properties. Planning permission was granted on 28 August 2019 for 158 homes.
  2. The development H/1:c – South of Babraham Road consists of 11.64 ha and spans the parish boundary of Sawston and Babraham. At the time of the review, the Council was anticipating an application for around 260 homes.

Sawston Parish Council has proposed an alteration to the Babraham/Sawston parish boundary to incorporate both of these new developments into the parish of Sawston. Please take a look at the map below showing the proposed new boundary and read the Terms of reference for further details. 

The review is took part in 2 stages both of which are now complete. A summary of each stage is provided below.  

A map showing the new proposed boundary for Babraham / Sawston [JPG, 0.9MB]

Why undertake the review?

The Community Governance Review aims to secure an arrangement which:

  • reflects the identities and interests of the community in that area
  • is effective and convenient
  • takes into account any other arrangements for the purpose of community representation or community engagement.

It ought to result in arrangements which will bring about improved community engagement, better local democracy and result in more effective and convenient delivery of local services.

A Community Governance Review to gain the views of residents gives the District Council an opportunity to put in place strong boundaries, tied to firm ground detail, and remove anomalous parish boundaries.

Local Government Boundary Commission England (LGBCE) guidance states that parish boundaries:

  • should reflect the “no-man’s land” between communities represented by areas of low population or barriers such as rivers, roads or railways
  • should consider parks and recreation grounds which sometimes provide natural breaks between communities but can equally act as focal points
  • would be unlikely to straddle a geographical feature or significant infrastructure such as a railway or motor way with no crossing points

Whichever boundaries are chosen, they will need to be, and be likely to remain, easily identifiable.

Stage One

Stage One of this review was conducted between January and March 2021 and invited views on the proposed boundary change as well as inviting alternative boundary suggestions. 75 residents responded to the consultation. Submissions indicated strong support for a boundary change and for the boundary change proposed by Sawston Parish Council. Three alternative boundary changes were proposed; 2 were broadly similar to the proposed boundary change and one was not supported by Local Government Boundary Commission England (LGBCE) guidance. Therefore, Stage Two considers the boundary change proposed by Sawston Parish Council only.

Results and recommendations were presented to Civic Affairs Committee on 25 March 2021.

Stage Two

Stage Two considered the boundary change proposed by Sawston Parish Council and was conducted between April and June 2021. 48 people in total made valid submissions and the majority supported the proposed boundary change.

Results and recommendations resulting from Stage Two were presented to Civic Affairs Committee on 10 June 2021

The decision made by Civic Affairs Committee as well as results and recommendations resulting from both stages of the review were presented to Full Council on 22 July 2021.

Reorganisation Order

In accordance with section 82 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, a re-organisation order has been submitted to the following effect:

  • The area hatched blue on the map shall cease to be part of the parish of Babraham and shall become part of the parish of Sawston.
  • The registration officer for the council shall make such rearrangement of, or adaption of, the register of local government electors as may be necessary for the purposes of, and in consequence of, this Order.
  • 1 April 2022 is the order date for the purposes of the Local Government (Parishes and Parish Councils) (England) Regulations 2008.

The Reorganisation Order is a legal document signed and sealed by South Cambridgeshire District Council. We are working hard to ensure everyone has equal access to documents on our website. To ensure that is the case an accessible text only version of this document and associated map are provided. We have provided instructions on how to access a sign and sealed version of the Reorganisation Order if required.

Reorganisation Order (text only) [PDF, 0.1MB]

Reorganisation Order (map only) [PDF, 0.1MB]

There are 2 alternative ways you can view a hard copy of the Re-organisation Order:

  1. By booking an appointment at our Offices. Due to Covid-19 guidelines, circumstances may change regarding visiting the office. Please contact our communities team for more information.
  2. By emailing Duty.communities@scambs.gov.uk and requesting that a hard copy is posted to you.  

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