Boundary Commission plans shake-up of Fareham Borough Council wards layout

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has launched a 10-week consultation on its proposed changes to ward boundaries.

The proposed changes include increasing the current number of councillors by one to 32 people, who will be split evenly into 16 wards.

And no longer will the borough have generic names for wards such as Fareham East and Fareham West, as it is suggested each ward should be given a more distinct name to reflect its area.

Launching the consultation Professor Colin Mellors, chair of the commission, said: ‘We want people in Fareham to help us.

‘We have drawn up proposals for new wards in Fareham. We want to make sure these new electoral arrangements reflect communities. We also want them to be easy to understand and convenient for local people.

‘Residents and local organisations can help us do that. We would like them to let us know whether they agree with our proposals before we take final decisions.

‘It’s easy to get involved. Go to our website. Or you can e-mail or write to us.

‘Just tell us what you think and give us some details why you think that. It’s really simple, so do get involved.’

Councillor Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council added: ‘I’m very pleased with the progress that’s been made, the council put forward a case, we gave a lot of thought to the community elements. It’s important that councillors represent distinct communities.

‘We’ve decided to name them all rather than having compass points of wards - every ward has got a name based on its distinct community.

‘It was changed for Park Gate ward which had got quite large due to the development at Coldeast.’

Residents can view the proposed changes in detail and provide comments on the commissions' website: https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/32652

Gosport underwent a reorganisation last year, and the elections held in May were under the new layout. The borough saw its total number of councillors drop from 34 to 28.