Harlow Council is encouraging residents to have their say on the Boundary Commission’s proposed changes to political wards within the town.
A 10-week consultation on the proposals will run until 12 December 2022. This will be residents and organisations last opportunity to comment before the proposals are made final.
The Local Government Commission for England is reviewing Harlow to make sure councillors will represent about the same number of electors, and that ward arrangements will help the council work effectively.
It is proposing that there should be 33 councillors, the same as the existing arrangements. Those councillors should represent 11 three-councillor wards across the district. The boundaries of all wards should change. The proposed changes include:
· Warding arrangements for Old Harlow, Newhall and Church Langley areas that will see them covered by three wards of Old Harlow, Church Langley North & Newhall and Church Langley South & Potter Street.
· The inclusion of Harlow town centre in the proposed Little Parndon ward
The process will end in all 33 seats being up for election in 2024 with elections in 2023 of a third of councillors taking place as usual.
The council’s cross-party Electoral Review working group will meet in October to look at the commission’s proposals.
Councillor Simon Carter, Chair of the Electoral Review working group, said:
“The general shape of the commission’s proposals is like the response submitted by the council in July. However, there are some notable differences to the boundaries in east of Harlow and around the town centre. Both the council, the members of the working group and the commission have spent many hours looking at future warding arrangements for the town, and I thank them for their efforts. Our working group will now look at the commission’s proposals very closely to scrutinise whether we think they allow our residents to be effectively represented. We will report on the matter during the consultation period and consider whether the council should make a formal response to the consultation.”
The Commission has a dedicated section on its website where people can see the detail of the proposals and comment on the names of wards and their boundaries. https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/34403.
People can also give their views by e-mail at [email protected], and by post:
Review Officer (Harlow)
LGBCE PO Box 133
Blyth
NE24 9FE
