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Brading is part of the only one of the Island’s 40 Wards to elect two Councillors. The Ward covers the three distinct and differing Parishes of Brading, St Helens and Bembridge, brought together by the Boundary Commission’s proposals in 2009. Brading and St Helens were the original pairing, some three miles apart and with Brading having the larger population (2,073 compared with St Helens’ 1,344). There are other differences too, between the historic medieval High Street that signals Brading’s character and heritage compared with the typical small English country village of St Helens with its quintessential village green surrounded by housing and its heritage coastline of special scientific interest. Both are different again from Bembridge, the largest of the three with a population of 3,943. In resisting the joining up proposed by the Boundary Commission, the Isle of Wight Council drew attention not only to Bembridge’s relative geographic isolation but also to social and cultural distinctions between it and the Brading/St Helens combination. These included the 37% of Bembridge residents of pensionable age compared with Brading/St Helens’ 27%. Its 61% of detached houses compared with 40%; its 14% of second homes, twice that of Brading/St Helens and its less than half the level of social housing of the Brading/St Helens pairing. All three, however, are characterised by having thriving community activities, strong parish councils representing their constituencies and their own Primary School. All three Parish Councils are committed to working closely together and collaborating directly over common interests. In the first test of the new Ward’s electorate, it produced a 48.49% turnout in the County and Parish elections of 4 June 2009 and elected both the Independents among the six candidates for the Ward Councillor roles. |