Shape political maps of new Dorset councils: deadline 27 August

The public consultation on boundary proposals for the new Dorset Council covering the western part of Dorset; and the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in the eastern part of the county will close on 27 August 2018.

The new Dorset Council will replace Dorset County Council as well as East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, Weymouth & Portland and West Dorset district councils. The new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council will be a merger of the three existing councils.

To prepare for their establishment, the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England has drawn up proposals for new ward boundaries to be represented by each councillor.

It is proposed that Dorset Council should have 82 councillors as follows: 30 one-councillor wards, 14 two-councillor wards and eight three-councillor wards.
It is proposed that Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council should have 76 councillors as follows: 23 two-councillor wards and 10 three-councillor wards.

Local people now have the chance to tell the Commission if they agree with the boundary proposals or if they can be improved to reflect local communities.

Chair of the Commission, Professor Colin Mellors, said, “This is the last chance for local people to have their say on ward boundaries.

“We want to hear evidence from the people who know their area best about the shape of local communities. Once we have looked at all the evidence that comes in during consultation, we will finalise our recommendations in October.”

Interactive maps of the recommendations are also available at https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/13247 (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) and https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/13248 (Dorset Council).