If your home is in Reigate and Banstead you could well find yourself living somewhere ‘new’ next year.
The political boundaries of the borough are being completely redrawn and the names of nearly all the borough’s wards are also being overhauled.
Recommendations to axe six councillors by reducing the total number from from 51 to 45, and cutting the number of wards from 19 to 15, were made last year.
The sweeping boundary shake-up will affect the majority of the borough’s residents.
Examples of new wards include the creation of ‘Horley Town’, and ‘Redhill Town’, and a new area simply called ‘Reigate‘, with current wards such as Redhill East and Redhill West, Reigate Hill, Reigate Central and Meadvale & St John’s consigned to history.
A ten-week public consultation on the recommendations set out by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England ends on August 13.
The consultation is open to anyone who wants to have their say on new council wards, their boundaries and names.
Professor Colin Mellors, chair of the commission, said: “Our review aims to deliver electoral equality for local voters. This means that each councillor represents a similar number of people, so that everyone’s vote in council elections is worth roughly the same, regardless of where you live.
(Image: contains Ordnance Survey data (c) Crown copyright and database rights 2018)
“We also want to ensure that our proposals reflect the interests and identities of local communities across Reigate and Banstead and that the pattern of wards can help the council deliver effective local government for local people.”
Email reviews@lgbce.org.uk or write to The Review Officer (Reigate and Banstead), Local Government Boundary Commission for England, 14 floor, Millbank Tower, London, SW1P 4QP
The dedicated web page for the Reigate and Banstead electoral review can be found here: http://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/south-east/surrey/reigate-and-banstead
The final recommendation will be published in October.