Proposed changes to voting boundaries in two parts of the county have been dropped after being slammed as “totally inappropriate” by Shropshire Council.
Final changes to the authority’s ward map, published toda, reveal the Local Government Boundary Commission for England has re-thought some of its draft proposals following strong opposition.
The new arrangements will see the county split into 72 divisions, two of which will have two councillors while the rest will have one each, following a formal request from the council to move to entirely single-member wards if possible. However, after hearing strong arguments from the council, residents and local councillors, the LGBCE has been persuaded to break its own rules on voter numbers, known as ‘electoral equality’, to allow the creation of a standalone Bayston Hill ward.
In Shrewsbury, Column and Sutton will have one councillor but will lose some of its population to the Abbey ward, and a new division named Oteley and Reabrook will be created. The LGCBE resisted this in its draft proposals as it would mean taking the ward 17 per cent over the optimum number of voters, but the final report says it now accepts “strong evidence of community identity justifies this poor electoral variance”.
All the surrounding areas will come under a vast new division, named Shifnal Rural, which will also take in part of the current Worfield ward. Bridgnorth will be split into Bridgnorth West and Tasley, Bridgnorth Castle and Bridgnorth East. Astley Abbotts, currently joined with Bridgnorth East in a two-member ward, will instead come under Brown Clee.
Chirbury and Worthen, which currently has too few electors, is set to expand to take in Westbury, which is currently in the Loton division.
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