Fareham residents given more time to have their say on new ward boundaries within their area

A 10-week consultation phase with the local government boundary commission, which was set to run until April 4, has been extended to July 7 to ensure residents and organisations can have their say on ward arrangements.

Under the proposed arrangements, Fareham borough will have 16 wards, an increase from the current 15.

And the commission has decided the number of councillors for Fareham Borough Council should be 32, one more than the current amount.

The commission is interested in views such as:

Which communities should be part of the same ward?

What facilities do people share, such as parks, leisure centres or schools and shopping areas?

What issues do neighbouring communities face that they have in common, such as high numbers of visitors or heavy traffic?

Has there been new housing or commercial developments that have changed the focus of communities?

Are there roads, rivers, railways or other features that people believe form strong boundaries between neighbourhoods?

Residents can visit the commission’s website to share their views which will be used to draw up proposals for new ward boundaries.

The purpose of changing ward arrangements is to make sure that councillors represent roughly the same amount of electors, while helping the council work effectively and maintaining community ties.