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Kent County Council
Review Body
The Commission carried out an electoral review of the County of Kent between December 2014 - June 2016. The aim of the review was to deliver electoral equality for voters in local elections and recommend ward boundaries that means each councillor represented approximately the same number of electors.
Our review aimed to ensure that each Kent councillor represented roughly the same number of voters and that ward boundaries reflected the interests and identities of local communities.
Review Dates
| Date from: | Date to: | |
| Consultation on division arrangements | 9 December 2014 | 2 March 2015 |
| Consultation on draft recommendations | 12 May 2015 | 6 July 2015 |
| Consultation on further draft recommendations | 29 September 2015 | 26 October 2015 |
| Final recommendations | 26 January 2016 |
Latest Information:
Recommendations become law
The Kent (Electoral Changes) Order 2016, to implement recommendations made by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) for new boundaries in Kent, was made on 7 June 2016 and was published on 8 June 2016. New division arrangements for Kent have now successfully completed a 40 day period of Parliamentary scrutiny and will come into force at the local elections in 2017.
The order for Kent can be viewed through the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/658/introduction/made
Draft order laid in Parliament
On 22 March 2016 the Kent (Electoral Changes) Order 2016 was laid in draft in Parliament.
The draft order if made would give effect to the final recommendations that were consulted on during the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s review of electoral arrangements in Kent and published on 26 Januray 2016.
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 Kent in 2017.
The draft order refers to a map. The map comprises the following sheets:
Previous Steps:
On 26th January 2016 we published final recommendations for future electoral arrangements in Kent County Council. The report is available in the link below.
• Final recommendations for new local government electoral arrangements for Kent Council (PDF)
• Letter to the Head of Paid Services at Kent County Council (PDF)
An overview map of the final recommendations (PDF) is available. To interact with the final recommendations mapping click on the image above to visit our consultation area. You can view both the existing and proposed boundaries and search by area or postcode.
PDF maps of each individual division can be found below. Please note each document is very large so may take some time to load.
To receive the data files for this map in shapefile format please email your request to [email protected].
We have now completed our electoral review of Kent County Council. The changes we have proposed must be approved by parliament. A draft Order - the legal document which brings into force our recommendations will be laid before parliament. The draft Order will provide for new electoral arrangements for the council to be implemented at the local elections in 2017.
Opinion Survey
We would like to invite you to participate in our online survey. The survey seeks feedback on the review processes and procedures, in order to identify improvements that can be made. We would be grateful if you could spare some time to complete the opinion survey.
Consultation closed on 26th October 2015
Below are the submissions we recieved:
Local Residents:
Parish and Town Councils:
Otford PC (2) (PDF)
Councillors:
The Commission opened a new phase of public consultation in its electoral review of Kent County Council. The consultation focuses on new proposals for county division boundaries in Sevenoaks. Between the 29 September and 26 October 2015 we invited comments on our further recommendations.
The Commission has listened to views put to it during its consultation this year and now proposes to make substantial changes to its previous recommendations for Sevenoaks. Due to the significance of the proposed changes, the Commission is re-opening its consultation in this part of the county only.
The Commission is satisfied that it has received sufficient evidence to finalise its proposals for new electoral divisions for the rest of Kent and plans to publish its final recommendations for the whole county in January 2016.
You can read more about the further draft recommendations, and view relevant mapping, in the documents below:
Letter to the Head of Paid Service at Kent County Council explaining the latest phase of consultation
Map A : The Commission’s further draft recommendations for Sevenoaks
You can also read our news release for further information
Consultation Closed on 6th July 2015
Below are the submissions that we recieved:
Local Residents:
All of the local residents submissions we received are contained in the documents below. At the front of the document is a list of names with links to the relevant submission.
Parish and Town Councils:
All of the Parish and Town Council submissions we received are contained in the documents below. At the front of the document is a list of names with links to the relevant submission.
Parish and Town Councils (PDF)
County Councillors:
District Councillors
Local Organisations:
Brents Community Association (PDF)
Sandyhurst Lane Residents Association (PDF)
Swanley Village Residents Association (PDF)
South Ashford Community Forum (PDF)
Westerham Town Partnership (PDF)
Political Groups:
Canterbury & Costal Liberal Democrats (PDF)
Crockham Hill Conservative Sevenoaks (PDF)
Faversham Swale Labour Party (PDF)
Folkstone Hythe Labour Party (PDF)
Gravesham Constituency Labour Group (PDF)
Kent County Council Conservative Group (PDF)
Kent County Council Liberal Group (PDF)
Kent County Council UKIP Group (PDF)
Sevenoaks Liberal Democrats (PDF)
Sevenoaks Conservative Association (1) (PDF)
Sevenoaks Conservative Association (2) (PDF)
District Councils:
Sevenoaks District Council (PDF)
Shepway District Council (PDF)
Swale District Council (1) (PDF)
Swale District Council (2) (PDF)
Tonbridge Malling Borough Council (PDF)
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (PDF)
MP:
On 12 May 2015 we published our draft recommendations for the further electoral review (FER) of Kent County Council. Between 12 May 2015 and 06 July 2015 we invited comments on our draft recommendations. These can be found using the links below.
• Draft recommendations for Kent County Council (PDF)
• News release on draft recommendations for Kent County Council
• Letter to the Head of Paid Services at Kent County Council (PDF)
An overview map of our draft recommendations (PDF) is available.
Please note: this map is very large and may take some time to download.
On 9 December 2014, we started the first period of consultation for a pattern of divisions for Kent County Council. Between 9 December 2014 and 2 March 2015, we are inviting comments on the division boundaries for the authority.
For more information read our news release and the letter to the Head of Paid Staff of Kent County Council (PDF)
The Commission have received updated figures and polling district data for Swale District. You may find the electoral data (XLS) useful when thinking about division arrangements.
To view the existing division arrangements visit our consultation area. You can search by area or postcode, and Have your say.
The consultation is now closed.
Below are the submissions which we have received:
Councillors
District Councils
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (PDF)
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (PDF)
Sevenoaks District Council (PDF)
Sevenoaks District Council - Appendix (XLS)
Local authority
Kent County Council (2015-03-03) (PDF)
Kent County Council (2015-03-02) - Appendix (XLS)
Local organisations
Kent Association of Local Councils (PDF)
Kennington Community Forum (PDF)
Local residents
Parish and Town councils
Parish and Town councils Part 1 (PDF)
Parish and Town councils Part 2 (PDF)
Political Groups
As part of the preliminary process we consulted with Kent County Council on the most appropriate council size (the number of councillors on Kent County Council). We received 1 submissions on council size.
Previous Reviews:
The Boundary Committee for England (BCFE) began reviewing the electoral arrangements of Kent County Council on 6 August 2002.
The Order implementing The Electoral Commission's decision on the final recommendations of this review has been made and can be viewed on Her Majesty's Stationery Office's website. The Order refers to a map, comprising a single sheet. For more information on how the Boundary Committee's final recommendations are made into Orders see the Implementation Team section of the Electoral Commission website .
Final recommendations , published on 27 April 2004
Large map sheet, final recommendation for Kent.
Draft recommendations , published on 12 August 2003
Map A1 illustrating the boundary between the proposed Broadstairs North and Eastcliff divisions in the district of Thanet.
Large map 1 draft recommendations for Kent.
A structural review was carried out by the Local Government Commission for England (LGCE), and was started on 13 December 1993
Final report (PDF) published on 26 October 1994
Draft report (PDF) published on 13 June 1994