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Somerset West and Taunton

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Review Body

In May 2018, Parliament authorised the creation of a new local authority called Somerset West and Taunton Council. The council will replace the existing authorities of West Somerset Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council.

 

The Commission's electoral review of Somerset West and Taunton concluded in December 2018. The aim of the review was to deliver electoral equality for voters in local elections, and recommend ward boundaries that ensure all councillors represent approximately the same number of electors.

 

Our review also aimed to deliver effective and convenient local government, and ensure that ward boundaries reflected the interests and identities of local communities.

Review Dates
  Date From: Date To:
Consultation on draft recommendations 3 July 2018 27 August 2018
Final recommendations 23 October 2018  
Latest Information:

The Somerset West and Taunton (Electoral Changes) Order 2018, to implement recommendations made by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) for new electoral arrangements in Somerset West and Taunton, was made on the 17th of December 2018.

New ward arrangements for Somerset West and Taunton Council have now successfully completed a 40 day period of Parliamentary scrutiny and will come into force at the local elections in May 2019. 

The Order for Somerset West and Taunton Council can be viewed here.

Previous Steps:

On 31 October 2018, the Somerset West and Taunton (Electoral Changes) Order 2018 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 Somerset West and Taunton Council and published on 23 October 2018.

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 Somerset West and Taunton in May 2019.

The draft order can be viewed here.

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

On 23 October 2018, we published final recommendations for future electoral arrangements in Somerset West and Taunton Council.

We have now completed our electoral review of Somerset West and Taunton.

As a result of our final recommendations on new warding 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 Somerset West and Taunton Council to come into effect at the local elections in 2019.

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.

The consultation on the draft recommendations for Somerset West and Taunton Council closed on 27 August 2018.

Listed below are the submissions we received:

Councillors 

Local Authorities

Political Groups

Local Organisations

Parish and Town Councils 

Residents (this will download a zip file of anonymised submissions)

On 3 July 2018, we published our draft recommendations for the electoral review of Somerset West and Taunton Council.

From 3 July to 27 August 2018, we are accepting opinions and comments (submissions) from the public on these recommendations for Somerset West and Taunton Council.

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

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. A non-interactive image of the proposed ward boundaries is also available.

You can make a submission to the Somerset West and Taunton electoral review:

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

   The Review Officer (Somerset West and Taunton)

   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.

As part of the initial stages of the review, we consulted with West Somerset Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council on the most appropriate number of councillors to be elected to the council.

We received one submission on council size and warding arrangements:

The Commission is minded to recommend that 59 councillors should serve Somerset West and Taunton Council.