An electoral boundary review of wards at the county level for Essex has seen one in which Stansted Mountfitchet sits being re-drawn to include new areas in the north west and east of Uttlesford.
The review has been carried out by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).
This is an independent body set up by parliament to ensure “electoral equality”.
This means they try to ensure:
- The divisions in Essex are in the best possible places to help the Council carry out its responsibilities effectively.
- The number of electors represented by each councillor is approximately the same across the county.
The commission proposed that Essex should be represented by 78 councillors, three more than there are now.
This entails creating eight more electoral divisions, with five existing divisions having their boundaries changed to accommodate the new arrangement. Stansted’s division is one of the five.
Our new division
The text below is taken from New Electoral Arrangements for Essex County Council – Draft Recommendations (November 2023 pages 37-39.
“Both schemes received for Uttlesford proposed identical Walden divisions, based around the town of Saffron Walden.
The Liberal Democrats proposed a Thaxted division wrapping around Walden division to the south, west and east.
Essex County Council’s proposal, in contrast, was for relatively more compact divisions, with Stansted division covering the north-west of the district, and Thaxted the north-east.
The Liberal Democrats’ proposal would have allowed Henham and Elsenham parishes to be placed in a division with Stansted Mountfitchet.
Evidence was provided regarding links between these areas, specifically healthcare and educational facilities.
Essex County Council considered this carefully, but do not consider that the evidence provided outweighs the disadvantages of a very large rural division, which would include more than 20 parishes.
At the suggestion of the Liberal Democrats, Essex County Council have modified the Council’s proposal in order to place Wendens Ambo parish, which includes the nearest rail station to Saffron Walden, in Walden division.
ECC have also modified their proposal in order to ensure that Newport ward is within a single division.
The County Council have achieved this by moving Widdington parish from Thaxted division into Stansted division.
These changes still allow Stansted, Thaxted and Walden divisions to retain good electoral equality.”