Today is the start of a ten-week public consultation inviting proposals for new council divisions and division boundaries for Worcestershire County Council.

Our consultation will close on 24 July 2023.

After we have considered all representations made to us during this consultation, we intend to publish draft recommendations in October 2023.

We will then hold a further period of consultation on our draft recommendations. Our final recommendations are expected to be published in May 2024.

The new electoral arrangements will come into effect at the local elections in May 2025.

What is an electoral review?

Our electoral review will recommend new electoral arrangements for Worcestershire. We will propose:

·        the total number of councillors elected to the council in the future;

·        the number of divisions;

·        the number of councillors representing each division;

·        division boundaries; and

·        the names of divisions.

How to get involved

This is a public consultation and we welcome views from individuals and organisations across Worcestershire on where they think new division boundaries should be drawn.

We are minded to recommend that 57 councillors should be elected to Worcestershire County Council in the future.

This is no change from the current number of councillors.

We are now inviting proposals to help us draw up a pattern of divisions to accommodate 57 councillors.

In drawing up new electoral  divisions, we must balance three legal criteria, namely:

·        to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the county;

·        that the pattern of divisions should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;

·        that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

We will treat all submissions equally, and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.

If you wish to put forward a view, we would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral division, make sure you tell us why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

There is more advice on our website about how you can get involved in the consultation.

Our website features technical guidance that explains the process and our policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.

We have also set up a webpage dedicated to the review of Worcestershire, where you can find all the relevant information.

You can also access interactive maps of the current ward boundaries across Worcestershire on our website. The portal also allows you to comment and upload documents directly to the site.