Rother District Council (RDC) is taking part in a county-wide electoral review run by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE). It is the first step in a lengthy consultation on proposed ward changes which would come into effect in 2019. Hundreds of people in Rother could also find themselves in new wards if the boundary changes get the go-ahead. The proposals, which will be discussed at RDC’s overview and scrutiny committee on Monday (October 19), include two options for Rother’s rural wards and one for Bexhill’s wards. For rural areas, the first proposal involves increasing the number of wards from 11 to 14 wards – six two-member and eight single-member. The second option sees the creation of 12 wards – eight two-member and four wards represented by a single councillor. Under both options, Battle would see extra wards created. It currently has one ward – Battle Town. The first option would see three wards for the town, namely Battle South, Battle Central and Battle North. The second option would lead to the creation of two wards for Battle, with proposed names of Battle & Marley and Battle Watch Oak. RDC has set up a boundary review steering group. The council said one of the aims of the proposals is to ensure each councillor represents roughly the same number of voters. In Rother it would mean 2,027 voters per member. It also said ward patterns should reflect community interests as far as possible. For Bexhill, the proposal involves keeping the existing nine two-member wards with minor adjustments. Bexhill Central ward would lose 187 electors and Bexhill’s Collington ward would get an extra 185 voters. Under the proposals for Bexhill the town’s Sackville ward would also get extra voters within its boundaries, totalling 187. Bexhill St Marks ward would see 185 less voters and Bexhill Sidley, a decrease of 313. The St Stephens ward would get an extra 313. The steering group also suggests changing the name of the Old Town ward to Old Town and Worsham to include new homes in north east Bexhill. Draft recommendations for new boundary changes for East Sussex will be published next March. Public consultation is set to take place between March and June. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1) Make our website your homepage 2) Like our Facebook page 3) Follow us on Twitter 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it.
