Have your say on ward boundary proposals

Residents are being given the opportunity to have their say on the proposed changes to ward boundaries in Exeter.

On Friday and Saturday (26 and 27 June), between 10am and 4pm, officers from the City Council will be at the historic Guildhall in the High Street to discuss the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s (LGBCE) recommendation for ward boundaries in Exeter, which are currently the subject of public consultation.

Plans displaying the proposals will be available, together with comment forms which local residents are being encouraged to return to the LGBCE giving their views on what is being proposed. Any comments need to be returned by 10 August, and will be taken into account by the LGBCE when drawing up its final proposals.

The LGBCE is undertaking a review of the ward boundaries in the city to deliver improved levels of electoral equality for local voters. Exeter currently has high levels of electoral inequality where some councillors represent many more – or many fewer – voters than others. This means that the value of votes in City Council elections varies depending on where people live in Exeter.

Exeter City Council currently has 40 councillors representing 18 wards, some of which are represented by two councillors, whilst others are represented by three. The LGBCE proposals will reduce this number to 39 councillors in the future with the city being divided into thirteen wards, each being represented by three councillors, which it believes will ensure the Council can discharge its roles and responsibilities effectively and provides for a warding pattern that meets its statutory criteria.

John Street, the Council’s Electoral Registration Officer said: “It is important in democratic terms, that residents are equally represented by their elected representatives, no matter where they live within the city. The City Council wants to hear from residents on the proposals put forward by the Local Government Boundary Commission and is therefore giving people the opportunity to see them in more detail in the Guildhall on Friday and Saturday. It will also help influence any response the Council may wish to make itself.”