ONLY a third of a ward's residents voted in favour of a proposed split from the town council.

Sevenoaks District Council has revealed the findings of the survey which will decide whether the ward of Hextable can break away from Swanley Town Council.

The possibility of a split came after Hextable Residents' Association handed a petition signed by 2,000 Hextable residents to Sevenoaks Council in May 2004.

This prompted the council to conduct a survey.

Despite 3,300 Hextable residents being sent out a three-question form only 1,653 responded.

In reply to the crucial question over whether a split should go ahead, less than a third of Hextable's total eligible voting population agreed.

From the votes cast by Hextable residents, 62 per cent 1,023 people want to see a split take place.

More than 11,000 Swanley residents were sent the same survey and 2,900 replied. But a clear 82.9 per cent were against the split.

Hextable councillor Dee Morris claimed the survey results as a success for the ward and said: "It's a wonderful response from the people of Hextable. The number of votes cast were more than double than for the elections.

"To say less than a third of Hextable residents want the split to take place is not fair. You can only count the number of people who voted, not the number of people who did not vote.

"The people of Hextable have clearly voted two-to-one for the split to go ahead."

Swanley councillor David Coates had a different perspective on the survey results.

He said: "Less than 50 per cent of Hextable residents turned out to vote and only two-thirds of them wanted to see the split go ahead.

"The residents' association ran its campaign saying more than half of Hextable wanted the split but the results show a considerable number changed their mind or did not want to vote at all."

When pressed on the low reply by Swanley residents, the councillor added: "I'm disappointed more Swanley residents didn't reply but the figures are about the same as the residents who vote in elections.

"I think the vast majority of people in Swanley did not see it as their problem."

Sevenoaks Council's electoral arrangements committee will now meet on March 23 to consider the survey's findings and decide whether to ask the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to give Hextable a separate parish.



PUT TO THE PEOPLE

Hextable Residents' Association proposed the split in May 2004 after 2,000 of the ward's residents signed a petition demanding the change. Sevenoaks council agreed to consider it in October last year.

In January 3,310 Hextable residents and 11,823 Swanley residents were sent a three-question survey. More than 1,600 Hextable residents and 2,900 of Swanley residents responded.

Survey results show 74 per cent of Hextable's respondents believe Hextable has a separate community identity. While 82.9 per cent of Swanley voters do not want the split to go ahead, 62 per cent from Hextable do. But 30.7 per cent of Hextable voters thought a split would have a negative impact on the remaining part of Swanley.

Sevenoak's Electoral Arrangements Committee will present residents' answers to Sevenoaks Council, it then goes to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which has the final say.

If it agrees to the split, it would happen in February next year in time for the next parish council elections the following May.