The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is engaged in its final consultation on new electoral divisions for Shropshire Council. In my view, it hasn’t got the proposals for Ludlow right.
If you live in Vashon Close, Ballard Close, Daham Drive, Baker Close or Morgan Close, you could be in a different division (ward) in the local elections in 2025. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is consulting on plans to move these streets from Ludlow South (currently represented by Viv Parry) to Ludlow East (currently represented by Tracey Huffer).
The Boundary Commission has a duty to balance the number of voters in each division. The current target is 3,594 voters in each division by 2028 plus or minus 10%. Division boundaries need to be changed to take account of population growth due to new housing developments and to correct a historic imbalance between the three divisions in Ludlow.
New boundaries will come into effect for the 2025 local elections.
Electoral arrangements in Shropshire have been under review for the last few years. The Boundary Commission began with parliamentary constituencies. That work is essentially complete. Shropshire will retain three constituencies with changed boundaries: North Shropshire, Shrewsbury (formerly Shrewsbury & Atcham) and South Shropshire (formerly Ludlow). The new constituencies will be used for the next general election, expected in 2024.
The Local Government Boundary Commission then began to review Shropshire Council boundaries, with a view to agreeing new division boundaries before the next all up election of councillors in 2025.
The review recommends that Shropshire Council has 74 councillors, the same number as now. Boundaries will change for all but thirteen divisions.
Currently, Ludlow East has 6% fewer electors than the average for divisions across Shropshire. If there is no change in electoral boundaries, it will have just over 10% fewer electors than the average in 2028.
To mitigate this, the boundary commission is proposing to transfer around voters from the north part of Parys Road and Dahn Drive to Ludlow East.
The commission has rejected a proposal to transfer around 100 voters in Rocks Green to Ludlow East. It says the bypass is a natural barrier. Few would agree with this. The A49 is a line on the map and the Rocks Green community is integrated with Ludlow. It also shares many of the demographics of Ludlow East, for example having a high proportion of social housing. Transferring Rocks Green to Ludlow East would reduce the division’s voter deficit to around 5%.
Residents of the Ludlow divisions can make their views known on the Local Government Boundary Commission website (which seems to be designed to be user unfriendly) or by emailing reviews@lgbce.org.uk. The consultation finishes on 10 July. The commission will publish its final proposals in October and parliamentary approval is expected in November.
Voters can also contact the three councillors for Ludlow, Viv Parry, Tracey Huffer and Andy Boddington.
Notes
The full consultation paper for Shropshire.
Rocks Green fits very comfortably within the Ludford Parish area, as a rural area not urban. The Parish Council represents the locals and there is no desire to become an Urban community with the additional costs.