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Fewer councillors in West Northants as ward review begins
31/08/2022
Views sought as to how the ward boundaries should be redrawn
A review of the wards that make up West Northamptonshire Council’s area has begun. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England plans to reduce the number of councillors from 93 down to 77. They are also inviting people to redraw the ward boundaries, defining what they believe are appropriate areas.
Currently Brackley town is itself a ward, represented by three councillors covering 11,717 people on the electoral role.
The area from Aynho and Croughton in the south to Chacombe and Marston St Lawrence in the north all forms the Middleton Cheney Ward. 8,933 people are in the electoral role in this area, which is again represented by three councillors.
The Commission has not proposed any new wards. Instead, they say they want to hear from local people on what they think of the current wards and where they think new ones should be.
Councillor Suresh Patel, Chairman of the Council’s Democracy Standards Committee and the Local Boundary Review Working Group said: “We welcome the Commission’s proposal, which is in line with our own cross-party assessment of the right number of councillors we believe we need to effectively represent communities, deliver council business and provide efficient governance.
“This is the first opportunity in almost a decade to review the electoral arrangements for West Northamptonshire so it’s great news that we’re now moving on to the next stage, and a real chance for our residents and communities to now get involved and help shape our future electoral wards.
“It’s so important that we get the best outcome possible for West Northamptonshire from the Commission’s review so I would encourage as many people as possible to join in the consultation and have their say on these new arrangements, which will lie at the heart of the local democratic process.”
A public consultation began yesterday and runs until 7 November.
The last electoral review in Northamptonshire took place in 2013. West Northamptonshire Council’s current electoral arrangements are based on those of the previous county council, with 93 councillors serving across 31 wards.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam