News

Councillors to approve changes for May election

By Stephanie Cockroft
February 02, 2012

COUNCILLORS are being asked to give the final seal of approval to changes in the election process, which will be in place for a fresh election for Rushmoor Borough Council in May.

The election, scheduled for May 3, will see new wards, fewer councillors and new polling stations.

Councillors who sit on the licensing and general purposes committee were this week asked to approve details of the changes, which are due to be approved by full council this month.

The details confirm there will be fewer elected politicians in Aldershot and Farnborough, reducing the current council from 42 to 39.

The introduction of new polling places, highlighted in the report, also mean a significant proportion of electors will vote at a polling station which is new to them.

The three places which have been added into the mix are at Farnborough Town Football Club for the Cherrywood ward, Our Lady and St Dominic Church Hall for the Empress ward and Cove Manor School for the West Heath ward.

The council says the new proposals will reduce the overall election costs by about £4,000, although these savings will be offset by publicity costs and the need to buy extra equipment, the report says.

Voters in Rushmoor will also have to get used to new ward boundaries and names, with Heron Wood making way for Aldershot Park and Grange and parts of Mayfield ward becoming Cherrywood ward.

It means thousands of voters will be voting in different areas from those they were used to for the past decade.

The review, which was started in 2010, was carried out by the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which published its final recommendations for the council last year.

The council’s final report also confirms a pattern of 13 three-member wards across the borough, replacing the 14 wards that previously existed.

The cut in council seats means there is likely to be a scramble to be selected for ‘safe’ seats among each party’s political candidates, particularly among the ruling Conservatives.

Andrew Colver, head of democratic services, said in his report: "Although the council did not choose to carry out this review, the proposed polling district and places represent an effective way of meeting the needs of electors without being complicated or making extensive changes."

If the plans are approved there will public awareness work carried out in the run up to the elections, to ensure that residents are aware of the changes.

| Submit Comments