Mr Chairman, members of the Council, Ladies and Gentlemen

I propose that a Parish Referendum be held, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 as soon as possible.

A referendum must be called if at least 10 electors of any Parish Council call for a referendum at a Parish Meeting. This may be on any subject relevant to the government and decision-making process in this country, local or national. I believe there are at least 9 other people here tonight who will support my call for the following question to be put to the electors of this Parish in a Referendum:

'Do you agree to the new town development being promoted in Forest Heath by London Development company Orion Land/Watermark on approx 600 acres of open countryside between Kentford, Kennett, Herringswell and Red Lodge, owned by the Mays-Smith and Kiddy Trusts'?

I Now propose that a vote be taken on this motion:

'THAT THIS PARISH MEETING HEREBY REQUIRES THE DISTRICT COUNCIL TO HOLD A REFERENDUM UNDER SCHEDULE 12, PART 3, PARAGRAPH 18 OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972.

THE QUESTION TO BE ASKED SHALL BE:

'Do you agree to the new town development being promoted in Forest Heath by London Development company Orion Land/Watermark on approx 600 acres of open countryside between Kentford, Kennett, Herringswell and Red Lodge, owned by the Mays-Smith and Kiddy Trusts'?

The Parish Clerk should then write down in the Minutes:

At 8.00 pm at a Meeting of the Parish Council, the following motion was put to the meeting by Mr/Mrs .................... 'That this Parish Council Meeting hereby requests the district council to hold a Referendum under Schedule 12, Part 3 of the Local Government Act 1972. The question to be asked shall be:

'Do you agree to the new town development being promoted in Forest Heath by London Development company Orion Land/Watermark on approx 600 acres of open countryside between Kentford, Kennett, Herringswell and Red Lodge, owned by the Mays-Smith and Kiddy Trusts'?

The Voting was: For (......); Against (.....); Number of Electors Present at the Meeting: (......).

The requirements for holding a referendum in this Parish have therefore been met.

Dear Sir/Madam

Re: Meeting of Herringswell Parish - Decision to hold a Referendum on the Land Development:

I am writing to inform you that at a meeting of Herringswell Parish Council on 31 January 2005, the following motion was carried:

'That this Parish Council Meeting hereby requests the district council to hold a Referendum under Schedule 12, Part 3, Paragraph 18 of the Local Government Act 1972. The question to be asked shall be:

"Do you agree to the new town development being promoted in Forest Heath by London Development company Orion Land/Watermark on approx 600 acres of open countryside between Kentford, Kennett, Herringswell and Red Lodge, owned by the Mays-Smith and Kiddy Trusts'?

The Voting was: For (......); Against (.....); Number of Electors Present at the Meeting: (......).

The requirements for holding a referendum in this Parish have therefore been met.

I should be grateful if you could now hold a Parish Referendum, posing the above question, within 14-25 days as required under the Regulations.

Please inform me as soon as possible the date on which the Referendum will be held and the hours during which people will be able to vote.

Yours faithfully

(This is a letter I printed out and delivered to every household in the Parish of Herringswell the day after I put the notice in the Village Notice Board)

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT IN HERRINGSWELL

There is a little known clause in the 1972 Local Government Act which allows an elector to ask the Parish council to hold a referendum.

A notice has been placed in the Village Notice Board with the 6 required signatures and a parish council meeting has been fixed for:

The motion to be put to the Parish council will be as follows:

'That this Parish council Meeting hereby requests the district council to hold a Referendum under Schedule 12, part 3 of the Local government Act 1972.

The question to be asked shall be:

'Do you agree to the new town development being promoted in Forest Heath by London Development company Orion Land/Watermark on approx 600 acres of open countryside between Kentford, Kennett, Herringswell and Red Lodge, owned by the Mays-Smith and Kiddy Trusts"?

We need at least 10 electors at this Meeting to call for this Referendum and I hope you will be able to attend.

Please give me a call if you have any questions.

In the Herringswell Parish Poll the hours were restricted to voting between 4.00 pm and 9.00 pm and no polling cards were issued. We prepared our own leaflet (copy attached) and the week-end before the poll (don't canvass too early as people will forget!), a few of us delivered them by hand, knocking on doors so we could answer any questions. We also offered lifts to those who did not have transport.

Write to the Chief Executive of the District Council requesting that you wish to be at the Count. You can also request to take another person with you. THIS IS YOUR POLL - MAKE SURE YOU ARE THERE!