Isle of Wight

The Commission is carrying out an electoral review of Isle of Wight Council.

The aim of the electoral review is to recommend ward boundaries that mean each councillor represents approximately the same number of voters.

We also aim to ensure that the ward boundaries reflect the interests and identities of local communities, as well as promoting effective local government.

To achieve these aims, we need to re-draw ward boundaries across the Isle of Wight. You can find out more about the review below.

	Date from:	Date to:
Consultation on division arrangements	1 May 2018	9 July 2018
Consultation on draft recommendations	4 September 2018	12 November 2018
Consultation on further draft recommendations	5 March 2019	1 April 2019
Final recommendations	4 June 2019

Latest Information:

(10) The Isle of Wight (Electoral Changes) Order 2020

Recommendations become law

The Isle of Wight (Electoral Changes) Order 2020, to implement recommendations made by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) for new electoral arrangements in the Isle of Wight, was made on 28 January 2020.

New ward arrangements for the Isle of Wight have now successfully completed a 40 day period of Parliamentary scrutiny and will come into force at the local elections in May 2021.

The Order for the Isle of Wight can be viewed through the following link.

Previous Steps:

(9) Parliamentary scrutiny: draft Order

On 22 October, the Isle of White (Electoral Changes) Order 2019 was laid in draft in Parliament.

The draft order, if made, would give effect to the final recommendations of the review.

The draft order will be laid in Parliament for a period of 40 sitting days. Parliament can either accept or reject our recommendations. If accepted, the new electoral arrangements will come into force at the next scheduled elections for the Isle of White Council in May 2021.

The draft order can be viewed here.

The draft order refers to a map which can be viewed here.

8) Final recommendations

On 4 June 2019, we published final recommendations for future electoral arrangements in the Isle of Wight County Council.

We have now completed our electoral review of the Isle of Wight.

Final recommendations report for the Isle of Wight County Council
Final recommendations map for the Isle of Wight County Council - please note: this map is very large and may take some time to download.
Summary of the Isle of Wight report
News release
Letter to the Chief Executive of Isle of Wight Council
Mapping files*

As a result of our final recommendations on new division patterns, we are making changes to the parish electoral arrangements for the following parish and town councils:

To view an interactive map of the final recommendations, visit our consultation area. You can view both the existing and proposed boundaries, and search by area or postcode.

The changes we have proposed must now be approved by Parliament.

A draft Order - the legal document which brings into force our recommendations - will now be laid before Parliament.

The draft Order will provide for the new electoral arrangements for the Isle of Wight Council to come into effect at the local elections in 2021.

Opinion Survey

We would be grateful if you could please spare some time to participate in our online survey. The survey seeks feedback on the review processes and procedures, to identify improvements that can be made.

*This data has been derived by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) from the OS OpenData Boundary-Line product during the course of its electoral review of this authority. Its use is governed by the terms of the OS OpenData Licence Agreement. The data is provided in good faith by the LGBCE and is provided for information purposes only. It should not be used for canvasing or other purpose that might give the user any commercial gain

(7) Submissions from further limited recommendations consultation

The Commission’s further limited consultation for Isle of Wight Council closed on 1 April 2019.

Listed below are the submissions we received:

Local Authority:

Political Groups:*

Councillors:*

Parish and Town Councils:*

Local Residents:*

*(Please note these will download as zip files)

(6) Further limited draft recommendations: public consultation

This stage of consultation has now closed.

From 5 March 2019 to 1 April 2019, we are accepting opinions and comments (submissions) from the public on changed draft recommendations for Isle of Wight Council.

The consultation focuses on new proposals for council division boundaries, in the following areas:

Totland/ Freshwater
Part of Ryde
Ventnor and Wroxall

The Commission has listened to the views of the public put to it during an earlier consultation, and now proposes to change its plans, to reflect the significance of the evidence we received.

Due to the significance of the proposed changes in the West of the Island, part of Ryde, and Ventnor and Wroxall, the Commission is now accepting additional opinions and comments (submissions) from local people about the areas affected.

The Commission is satisfied with the evidence received for the rest of the authority, and is therefore not seeking further opinions and comments (submissions) on areas other than those listed above.

The Commission plans to publish its final recommendations for the whole of Isle of Wight Council on 4 June 2019.

For more information, see our:

Information on how reviews work is available on our How Reviews Work Page.

You may also wish to read our document Electoral Reviews: Technical Guidance, which contains guidance on the review process and information on the legislation reviews are carried out under.

(5) Submissions from Draft Recommendations Consultation

The consultation on the Commission’s draft recommendations for Isle of Wight Council closed on 12 November 2018.

Listed below are the submissions we received:

Local Authority:

Political Groups:

Councillors:*

Local Organisations:

Parish and Town Councils: *

Local Residents: *

*Please note that these will open as zip files

(4) Draft recommendations

This consultation closed on 12 November 2018.

From 4 September to 12 November, we are inviting submissions from the public on draft recommendations for Isle of Wight Council.

To view an interactive map of the draft recommendations, visit our consultation area. You can view both the existing and proposed boundaries, search by area or postcode, and have your say.
Draft recommendations report for Isle of Wight Council

Draft recommendations map for Isle of Wight Council (pdf) - please note: this map is very large and may take some time to download.
Summary of the report
News release
Letter sent to the Chief Executive of Isle of Wight Council
Promotional poster
Electorate figures

As a result of our draft recommendations on new division patterns, we are making changes to the parish electoral arrangements for the following parish and town councils (click on the name of the parish to see our proposals):

You can make a submission to the Isle of Wight electoral review:

through our consultation area,
by e-mailing [email protected], or
writing to the following address:

The Review Officer (Isle of Wight)

Local Government Boundary Commission for England

1st Floor, Windsor House

50 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0TL

Information on how reviews work is available on our How Reviews Work Page.

You may also wish to read our document Electoral Reviews: Technical Guidance, which contains guidance on the review process and information on the legislation reviews are carried out under.

(3) Submissions from warding arrangements consultation

The consultation on the warding arrangements for the Isle of Wight Council closed on 9 July 2018.

Listed below are the submissions we received:

Local Authority:

Isle of Wight Council

Political Groups:

Isle of Wight Conservative Association

Conservative Association, Sandown/Lake Branch

Sandown and Shanklin Labour Party

Councillors:

Parish and Town Councils:

Bembridge Parish Council

Bembridge Parish Council (2)

East Cowes Town Council

Newport Parish Council

Local Residents:

A-Z

(2) Warding arrangements

The consultation on warding arrangements for the Isle of Wight Council has now closed.

From 1 May to 9 July 2018 we accepted opinions and comments (submissions) from the public on where you believed ward boundaries should be in the Isle of Wight Council.

The Commission is minded to recommend that the Isle of Wight Council should have 40 councillors in the future. This is no change from the current number of councillors.

The Commission now needs information from people and groups across the Isle of Wight to help it to produce new ward boundaries to accommodate 40 councillors.

For more information, see our:

News release
Letter to the Chief Executive of the Isle of Wight Council
Electoral figures
Promotional poster
Isle of Wight polling district map (Please note, polling district mapping data has been supplied by the Isle of Wight Council and may contain boundary errors.)

To view an interactive map of the existing ward boundaries, visit our consultation area. You can search by area or postcode. A non-interactive image of the current ward boundaries is also available.

Information on how reviews work is available on our How Reviews Work Page.

For a quick guide on how to propose a pattern of wards click here.

You may also wish to read our document Electoral Reviews: Technical Guidance, which contains guidance on the review process and information on the legislation reviews are carried out under.

(1) Councillor numbers

As part of the initial stages of the review, we consulted with Isle of Wight Council on the most appropriate number of councillors to be elected to the council in future.

We received one submission on council size:

Isle of Wight Council

The Commission is minded to recommend that 40 councillors should serve Isle of Wight Council in the future. This is no change from the current number of councillors.

Previous Reviews:

Isle of Wight electoral review 2008

Draft Recommendations

On 25 October 2007 we published our draft recommendations for the Isle of Wight's future electoral arrangements (PDF).

Final Recommendations

We published our final recommendations for the Isle of Wight's future electoral arrangements (PDF) on 18 June 2008.

On 16 September 2008 the Electoral Commission decided to accept the Boundary Committee's recommendations for new electoral arrangements for the Isle of Wight, without modifications. The new electoral divisions will come into force at the county council elections in 2009. Print and web versions of the order to give effect to this decision are published by the Office of Public Sector Information. The order refers to Sheet 1, Sheet 2, Sheet 3, Sheet 4, Sheet 5, Sheet 6, Sheet 7, Sheet 8 and Sheet 9 of the order map. Current electoral boundaries are published by Ordnance Survey.