News Release
PROPOSALS FOR PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY BOUNDARIES IN THE COUNTIES OF KENT AND MEDWAY The Commission will publish provisional recommendations on 8 May 2003 for changes to fifteen of the seventeen existing constituencies in the area covered by the counties of Kent and Medway. Provisional Recommendations 1. Following The Kent (Borough of Gillingham and City of Rochester upon Medway) (Structural Change) Order 1996, Medway acquired unitary authority status and ceased to form part of the county of Kent. The remaining twelve districts formed the county of Kent. 2. The unitary authority of Medway has the legal status of a county and, therefore, falls within the scope of Rule 4 of Schedule 2 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986. The Commission are required by Rule 4 to have regard to county boundaries and should, therefore, not create a constituency across the boundary between two counties. However, they are also allowed by Rule 5 to depart from the requirements of Rule 4, in order to avoid an excessive disparity between the electorate of a constituency and the electoral quota (the electoral quota is explained in "Rules" below) or between the electorates of neighbouring constituencies. Additionally, Rule 7 confirms that it shall not be the duty of the Commission to aim at giving full effect to the other rules but that they should take account, so far as they reasonably can, of any local ties that would be broken by the changes they make to constituencies. 3. The only changes to local authority boundaries in Kent and Medway since the last general review have been to ward boundaries following the Periodical Electoral Reviews by the Local Government Commission for England (now the Boundary Committee for England). New wards came into effect at the local government elections on 2 May 2002 (the Boroughs of Maidstone, Swale, and Tunbridge Wells) and others will come into effect on 1 May 2003 (the Boroughs of Ashford, Dartford, Gravesham, Medway, and Tonbridge and Malling, the City of Canterbury, and the Districts of Dover, Sevenoaks, Shepway, and Thanet). This will mean that fifteen wards in the two counties will be divided between constituencies. The Commission do not divide wards between constituencies and their proposals will realign the constituency boundaries with the new ward boundaries, so that all the new wards are placed wholly within constituencies. 4. The combined area of Kent and Medway currently has seventeen constituencies with a parliamentary electorate in 2000 of 1,178,623. This number of electors, when divided by the 2000 electoral quota of 69,934, gives a theoretical entitlement to 16.85 seats. With an allocation of seventeen seats the combined area would have a county average of 69,331 that would be only 603 below the electoral quota. The seventeen existing constituencies in Kent and Medway have electorates ranging from 76,405 in Ashford CC to 62,642 in South Thanet CC: a disparity of 13,763. 5. Kent has a 2000 electorate of 997,157 and a theoretical entitlement to 14.26 seats. If Kent was reviewed separately and allocated fourteen seats it would have a county average of 71,226 which would be 1,292 above the electoral quota. 6. Medway has a 2000 electorate of 181,466 and a theoretical entitlement to 2.59 seats. If Medway were reviewed separately and allocated three seats it would have a county average of 60,489 which would be 9,445 below the electoral quota. The Commission noted that Medway has twenty-two wards with an average of 8,248 electors in each ward. If three seats were allocated, two would contain seven wards with an average electorate of 57,736, which would be 12,198 below the electoral quota, whilst the third seat would contain eight wards and have an average electorate of 65,984. 7. The Commission decided that the two counties should be reviewed together. Seventeen seats would be allocated whether the two counties were reviewed separately or together. By reviewing them together the Commission noted that it would allow minimum change to be considered for some of the existing constituencies and would avoid an excessive disparity between neighbouring constituencies or between constituencies and the electoral quota. 8. The Commission propose to realign constituency boundaries with the new ward boundaries and to then reduce the electoral disparity between the constituencies by making further minor changes. The net effect will be changes to fifteen of the seventeen constituencies with Gravesham CC and Tonbridge and Malling CC remaining unchanged. 9. It is not possible for the Commission to propose the minimum amount of change necessary just to realign constituency boundaries with the new ward boundaries in every case in Kent and Medway. Twelve of the fifteen divided wards are included wholly in the seat where the majority of electors are already situated. The remaining three divided wards are dealt with as follows. 10. To address the low electorate of Medway CC, the whole of the divided Medway Borough ward of Rochester South and Horsted has been included in Medway CC rather than in Chatham and Aylesford CC. This change increases the low electorate of Medway CC from 64,724 to 69,032, and unites the three Rochester wards in the same seat. 11. The Commission noted that if the whole of the divided Thanet District ward of Thanet Villages was located in South Thanet CC, rather than in North Thanet CC, it would detach and isolate the five City of Canterbury wards of Greenhill and Eddington, Herne and Broomfield, Heron, Reculver, and West Bay from the rest of North Thanet CC. To address the problem of the five detached wards, the Commission provisionally decided to locate the Thanet Villages ward in North Thanet CC rather than in South Thanet CC. 12. To bring the electorates of the Dartford and Sevenoaks seats closer together, and to improve the shape of both seats, the whole of the divided Sevenoaks District ward of Hartley and Hodsoll Street has been included in Sevenoaks CC rather than in Dartford CC. 13. The further changes proposed by the Commission are as follows. To increase the electorate of South Thanet CC following the transfer of the Thanet Villages ward, the Commission propose to transfer the two wards of Cliftonville East and Cliftonville West from North Thanet CC to South Thanet CC. To bring the electorates of Canterbury CC and North Thanet CC closer to the county average and electoral quota, the Commission further propose to transfer the City of Canterbury ward of Chestfield and Swalecliffe from Canterbury CC to North Thanet CC. To bring the electorates of Maidstone and the Weald CC and Tunbridge Wells CC closer to the county average and electoral quota, the Commission also propose to transfer the Tunbridge Wells Borough ward of Hawkhurst and Sandhurst from Maidstone and the Weald CC to Tunbridge Wells CC. 14. The Commission were concerned that Ashford CC had a high 2000 electorate (76,405). It was known to be a growth area due to the development of the Channel Tunnel terminal, and they were also aware of the announcement that identified Ashford as an area for further development. The Commission noted that the electorate of the seat had already grown to 80,152 by December 2002 and they considered it needed to be reduced. 15. The Commission therefore propose that the Ashford Borough ward of Biddenden is transferred to Maidstone and the Weald CC, the Ashford Borough ward of Downs North is transferred to Canterbury CC, and the Ashford Borough ward of Saxon Shore is transferred to Folkestone and Hythe CC. The continuing rise of the Ashford electorate, and the need to transfer wards to adjacent seats, means that both Ashford Borough and Shepway District lose their coterminosity with constituency boundaries. The Commission are aware that Ashford Borough would be divided between four seats, but consider that they have a duty to deal with the high and still increasing electorate of the Ashford seat. 16. The changes proposed by the Commission to the existing constituencies will have the effect of reducing the electoral disparity between them from 13,763 to 7,215. 17. The proposed new constituencies are illustrated in outline on the sketch map which forms part of this document (please note the copyright warning below concerning the map). The letters on the map refer to the districts, and the numbers refer to the district wards. The map is to be used in conjunction with the ward listing at the end of this document which shows the letters and districts, the numbers and wards, and the 2000 ward electorates on which the Commission are required by law to work. 18. The composition of the seventeen constituencies provisionally recommended would be (the 2000 electorates are shown in brackets):- ASHFORD COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (68,655). Thirty-two wards of the Borough of Ashford:- Aylesford Green, Beaver, Bockhanger, Boughton Aluph and Eastwell, Bybrook, Charing, Downs West, Godinton, Great Chart with Singleton North, Highfield, Isle of Oxney, Kennington, Little Burton Farm, Norman, North Willesborough, Park Farm North, Park Farm South, Rolvenden and Tenterden West, St Michaels, Singleton South, South Willesborough, Stanhope, Stour, Tenterden North, Tenterden South, Victoria, Washford, Weald Central, Weald East, Weald North, Weald South, Wye. CANTERBURY COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (70,229). One ward of the Borough of Ashford:- Downs North; eighteen wards of the City of Canterbury:- Barham Downs, Barton, Blean Forest, Chartham and Stone Street, Gorrell, Harbledown, Harbour, Little Stour, Marshside, North Nailbourne, Northgate, St Stephens, Seasalter, Sturry North, Sturry South, Tankerton, Westgate, Wincheap. CHATHAM AND AYLESFORD COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (66,482). Five wards of the Borough of Medway:- Chatham Central, Lordswood and Capstone, Luton and Wayfield, Princes Park, Walderslade; eight wards of the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling:- Aylesford, Blue Bell Hill and Walderslade, Burham, Eccles and Wouldham, Ditton, Larkfield North, Larkfield South, Snodland East, Snodland West. DARTFORD COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (68,028). The Borough of Dartford; one ward of the District of Sevenoaks:- Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth. DOVER COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (69,932). Nineteen wards of the District of Dover:- Aylesham, Buckland, Capel-le-Ferne, Castle, Eastry, Eythorne and Shepherdswell, Lydden and Temple Ewell, Maxton, Elms Vale and Priory, Middle Deal and Sholden, Mill Hill, North Deal, Ringwould, River, St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe, St Radigunds, Tower Hamlets, Town and Pier, Walmer, Whitfield. FAVERSHAM AND MID KENT COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (68,422). Twelve wards of the Borough of Maidstone:- Bearsted, Boxley, Detling and Thurnham, Downswood and Otham, Harrietsham and Lenham, Headcorn, Leeds, North Downs, Park Wood, Shepway North, Shepway South, Sutton Valence and Langley; seven wards of the Borough of Swale:- Abbey, Boughton and Courtenay, Davington Priory, East Downs, St Ann’s, Teynham and Lynsted, Watling. FOLKESTONE AND HYTHE COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (72,512). One ward of the Borough of Ashford:- Saxon Shore; the District of Shepway. GILLINGHAM BOROUGH CONSTITUENCY (71,539). Eight wards of the Borough of Medway:- Gillingham North, Gillingham South, Hempstead and Wigmore, Rainham Central, Rainham North, Rainham South, Twydall, Watling. GRAVESHAM COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (70,098). The Borough of Gravesham. MAIDSTONE AND THE WEALD COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (71,759). One ward of the Borough of Ashford:- Biddenden; fourteen wards of the Borough of Maidstone:- Allington, Barming, Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton, Bridge, Coxheath and Hunton, East, Fant, Heath, High Street, Loose, Marden and Yalding, North, South, Staplehurst; two wards of the Borough of Tunbridge Wells:- Benenden and Cranbrook, Frittenden and Sissinghurst. MEDWAY COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (69,032). Nine wards of the Borough of Medway:- Cuxton and Halling, Peninsula, River, Rochester East, Rochester South and Horsted, Rochester West, Strood North, Strood Rural, Strood South. NORTH THANET COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (70,452). Six wards of the City of Canterbury:- Chestfield and Swalecliffe, Greenhill and Eddington, Herne and Broomfield, Heron, Reculver, West Bay; nine wards of the District of Thanet:- Birchington North, Birchington South, Dane Valley, Garlinge, Margate Central, Salmestone, Thanet Villages, Westbrook, Westgate-on-Sea. SEVENOAKS COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (71,237). Twenty wards of the District of Sevenoaks:- Ash, Brasted, Chevening and Sundridge, Crockenhill and Well Hill, Dunton Green and Riverhead, Eynsford, Fawkham and West Kingdown, Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount, Hartley and Hodsoll Street, Hextable, Kemsing, Otford and Shoreham, Seal and Weald, Sevenoaks Eastern, Sevenoaks Kippington, Sevenoaks Northern, Sevenoaks Town and St John’s, Swanley Christchurch and Swanley Village, Swanley St Mary’s, Swanley White Oak, Westerham and Crockham Hill. SITTINGBOURNE AND SHEPPEY COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (65,297). Eighteen wards of the Borough of Swale:- Borden, Chalkwell, Grove, Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Kemsley, Leysdown and Warden, Milton Regis, Minster Cliffs, Murston, Queenborough and Halfway, Roman, St Michaels, Sheerness East, Sheerness West, Sheppey Central, West Downs, Woodstock. SOUTH THANET COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (69,501). Two wards of the District of Dover:- Little Stour and Ashstone, Sandwich; fourteen wards of the District of Thanet:- Beacon Road, Bradstowe, Central Harbour, Cliffsend and Pegwell, Cliftonville East, Cliftonville West, Eastcliff, Kingsgate, Nethercourt, Newington, Northwood, St Peters, Sir Moses Montefiore, Viking. TONBRIDGE AND MALLING COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (65,969). Five wards of the District of Sevenoaks:- Cowden and Hever, Edenbridge North and East, Edenbridge South and West, Leigh and Chiddingstone Causeway, Penshurst, Fordcombe and Chiddingstone; eighteen wards of the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling:- Borough Green and Long Mill, Cage Green, Castle, Downs, East Malling, East Peckham and Golden Green, Hadlow, Mereworth and West Peckham, Higham, Hildenborough, Ightham, Judd, Kings Hill, Medway, Trench, Vauxhall, Wateringbury, West Malling and Leybourne, Wrotham. TUNBRIDGE WELLS COUNTY CONSTITUENCY (69,479). Eighteen wards of the Borough of Tunbridge Wells:- Brenchley and Horsmonden, Broadwater, Capel, Culverden, Goudhurst and Lamberhurst, Hawkhurst and Sandhurst, Paddock Wood East, Paddock Wood West, Pantiles and St Mark’s, Park, Pembury, Rusthall, St James’, St John’s, Sherwood, Southborough and High Brooms, Southborough North, Speldhurst and Bidborough. 19. Please note that the wards have not been listed for the Boroughs of Dartford, Gravesham, and the District of Shepway, where the whole of the borough or district is contained in the proposed constituency. However, as already mentioned, a full ward listing with 2000 ward electorates is given at the end of this document. 20. The wards named in this document are the new wards which were created by the following Orders, which came into effect at the local elections on 2 May 2002 (Maidstone, Swale, and Tunbridge Wells), and will come into effect at the local elections on 1 May 2003 (Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Gravesham, Medway, Sevenoaks, Shepway, Thanet, and Tonbridge and Malling):- The City of Canterbury (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The Borough of Dartford (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The District of Dover (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The Borough of Gravesham (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The Borough of Medway (Electoral Changes) Order 2002 The District of Sevenoaks (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The District of Shepway (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The Borough of Swale (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The District of Thanet (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The Tonbridge and Malling (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 The Borough of Tunbridge Wells (Electoral Changes) Order 2001 Publication of Provisional Recommendations 21. The provisional recommendations will be published formally in a notice appearing in local newspapers in Kent and Medway on 8 May 2003. Local authorities, MPs, the Political Parties’ Headquarters, and others will be sent a copy of the recommendations. The notice will also be published on the Commission’s web site at:- http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/ Places of Inspection 22. The notice in local newspapers will also give the addresses where a copy of the recommendations and a more detailed map illustrating them may be inspected once the notice has been published in local newspapers on 8 May 2003 (please note the copyright warning below concerning the map). Those addresses are:-
Representation Period: 8 May 2003 to 15 June 2003 23. The Commission are statutorily required to consider representations about their provisional recommendations made within one month of local publication on 8 May 2003. However, the statutory one month period has been extended by one week to allow for the Spring Bank Holiday. 24. Representations should be addressed to the Boundary Commission for England, PO Box 31060, London, SW1V 2FF, or faxed to 020 7533 5176, or emailed to alan.bannister@ons.gov.uk . All representations received by the Commission will be acknowledged. 25. Please note that the Commission are not statutorily required to consider any representations made after 15 June 2003, but will endeavour to take late representations into account. However, the later the representation is made, the more difficult this will be. The Commission therefore ask that all representations be made within the period allowed. In the event that a local inquiry is held into the provisional recommendations, all representations will be made public beforehand so that interested persons may prepare for the local inquiry. Any representation received too late to be issued with the other representations before the local inquiry cannot be given the same weight as the other representations because other interested persons will not have had the same opportunity to consider it. 26. Where representations objecting to the provisional recommendations are made by an interested local authority (county or district council) or by a body of 100 or more electors, the Commission cannot proceed with their final recommendations to the Secretary of State until a local inquiry has been held. If the Commission decide to alter their recommendations as a result of the inquiry, the revised recommendations must also be published and representations invited, but a further local inquiry is not obligatory. 27. Those who make representations are requested to say whether they approve of, or object to, the Commission’s proposals and to give their reasons for their approval or objection. In particular, objectors are advised to say what they propose in place of the Commission’s recommendations and should note that an objection accompanied by a counter-proposal is likely to carry more weight than a simple statement of objection. 28. The Commission wish to stress that their provisional recommendations relate solely to parliamentary constituencies. They do not affect county, district or parish boundaries, local taxes, the administration of local services, or result in changes to postcodes. Nor is there any evidence that the provisional recommendations have an adverse effect on house prices, or car and house insurance premiums. The Commission will not, therefore, be able to take account of any representation which is based on these issues. Background Note 29. The Commission are constituted under Schedule 1 to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986. The ex officio Chairman is the Speaker of the House of Commons. The Deputy Chairman, who presides over Commission meetings, is a High Court Judge appointed by the Lord Chancellor. The other two Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of State. The two Assessors to the Commission are the Registrar General of England and Wales and the Director General of Ordnance Survey. Assistant Commissioners are lawyers appointed by the Secretary of State to conduct local inquiries. 30. The Commission are required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992 to conduct a general review of all the constituencies in England every eight to twelve years. The Commission completed their previous general review on 12 April 1995 and must therefore complete the current review after 11 April 2003 and before 12 April 2007. 31. The general review started formally with the publication of a notice in the London Gazette on 17 February 2000. The Commission’s recommendations throughout the review must by law be based on the numbers of electors on the electoral registers on that date. Rules 32. In recommending new constituencies, the Commission are required to give effect to the Rules for Redistribution of Seats which are contained in Schedule 2 to the 1986 Act. 33. Rule 1 places a limit on the total number of constituencies. Rule 2 requires single member constituencies. Rule 3 relates to the City of London. Rule 4 states that county and London borough boundaries are to be followed so far as is practicable. Rule 5 states that the electorates of constituencies are to be as nearly equal as practicable. Rule 6 allows the Commission to depart from rules 4 and 5 if special geographical considerations make a departure desirable. 34. Rule 7 allows the Commission to depart from other rules; and requires them to take account of inconveniences caused or local ties broken by changes to constituencies. Rule 8 defines the electoral quota as the total number of parliamentary electors in England (36,995,157) divided by the existing number of seats (529), and requires the Commission to use the electorates as at the start of a review. Procedures 35. In conducting a general review of constituencies, the Commission are required by the legislation to follow certain procedures, principally to provide for public consultation. 36. The Secretary of State must be given notice of a review and that notice must be published in the London Gazette. Provisional recommendations must be published in newspapers in the affected constituencies and, unless the proposals are for no changes to be made, they must also be deposited for public inspection in at least one place in each affected constituency. 37. Representations may be made within one month of publication of the provisional recommendations (however, see paragraph 23) and the Commission must take any representations into consideration. Where objections are received from a county or district council or a body of 100 or more electors, a local inquiry must be held. 38. If the Commission revise their recommendations as a result of an inquiry, the revised recommendations must also be published and further representations invited and considered. A second local inquiry cannot be forced by these further representations, but there is discretionary power to hold a second inquiry. Any further modifications, as a result of further representations or a second inquiry, must also be published and representations invited. When the Commission have decided their final recommendations for the whole country, they must submit a report to the Secretary of State. Implementation of the recommendations 39. The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to lay the Commission's report before Parliament together with a draft Order in Council giving effect to the Commission’s recommendations with or without modifications. If modifications are proposed, the Secretary of State must also lay a statement of reasons for the modifications. 40. The draft Order in Council is submitted to both Houses of Parliament for approval and, after it is made by Her Majesty in Council, it cannot be called into question in any legal proceedings. The new constituencies take effect at the general election following the making of the Order in Council. 41. The above information is intended to be a general guide only. For a definitive statement of the law, please refer to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 - as amended by the Boundary Commissions Act 1992, the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, the Government of Wales Act 1998, and the Scotland Act 1998 - together with the Court of Appeal ruling in R v Boundary Commission for England Ex parte Foot [1983] QB 600. Crown Copyright 42. The outline map which forms part of this document and the maps deposited at the addresses listed above are based on Ordnance Survey data and are subject to ©Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction will infringe Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. 43. Any person wishing to reproduce the outline map or the maps placed on deposit should first contact the Copyright Office at Ordnance Survey, Romsey Road, Southampton SO16 4GU (telephone 023 8079 2929). Enquiries 44. Should you require further information about these provisional recommendations or about other aspects of the Commission's work please write to:- Boundary Commission for England or telephone:- Kent and Medway enquiries 020 7533 5147 or 020 7533 5141 45. The Internet version of this news release is now available on:- http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pbc/ KENT AND MEDWAY 2000 WARD ELECTORATES TO BE USED THROUGHOUT THE REVIEW
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