Boundary Commission review of Redditch 2022

What is an Electoral Review?

An electoral review is an examination of a Council’s electoral arrangements.

The Review is carried out by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (the Commission).  The Commission is an independent statutory body, whose objectives include the provision of electoral arrangements that are fair and that deliver electoral equality for voters.

The work of the Commission is to:

1. Provide electoral arrangements that are fair and deliver electoral equality for voters.
2. Help deliver effective and convenient local government to citizens.

This review is not exclusive to Redditch Borough Council, there are many reviews happening across country.

The review was completed in January 2023 and the order was made in law on 16 June 2023.

Why were the wards reviewed?

Electoral reviews are carried out to see whether the boundaries of wards within a local authority need to be altered to ensure effective local government and electoral equality. The last review was in 2002 and therefore a review was arranged to ensure all Councillors represent around the same number of electors across the Borough.

The Commission worked to make recommendations on:

• The number of wards
• The names of wards
• Where the boundaries between wards should lie
• The number of Councillors for each ward.

What is the process?

The Commission has produced detailed technical guidance on how it carries out electoral reviews and the information that it considers in such a review. The relevant guidance is publicly available on the Commission’s website

There are a number of key stages in the Electoral review process, and these are set out in the Electoral Review Timetable.

How will the Electoral Review affect residents?

The review changed the electoral warding arrangements within the Borough affecting voters at local elections. There are now nine wards across the Borough each represented by three Councillors. The total number of Councillors will now be 27.

The polling station residents’ use may change. Now the Commission has published the final recommendations, the Council has carried out a review of all polling stations across the Borough. Results of the review will be posted in due course.

Final recommendations for Redditch Borough Council

The Review has now been completed and the new arrangements will come into force at the Local Elections in May 2024.

The full library of information relating to the review is available on the Commission's main website

The order creating the new wards can be found here.

A map of the new wards can be found here.