News  »  Have your say on our draft recommendations for North Herts Council

Have your say

A consultation on draft recommendations​ for ward boundaries in North Herts has begun Ã¢â‚¬â€¹

Today we published draft recommendations for new ward, ward boundaries, and ward names for North Herts District Council.

We are now inviting comments on those recommendations.

Our consultation closes on 9 January 2023.

If you represent a local organisation or community group in North Herts, please pass this message on to your members or anyone you think who might be interested in the review. You can share the message by email or through social media by using the buttons at the bottom right of the page.

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

• Royston Parish Council

Have your say

You can take part in the consultation by clicking the button at the top of this message or through our interactive consultation portal.

Our website includes further information about the Commission and the review.

We encourage everyone who has a view on the draft recommendations to contact us, whether you support them or whether you wish to propose alternative arrangements.

We will consider every representation received during consultation, whether it is submitted by an individual, a local group or an organisation. 

We will weigh each submission against the legal criteria which we must follow when drawing up electoral arrangements:

• to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the district;
• that the pattern of wards should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
• that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

It is important that you take account of the criteria if you are suggesting an alternative pattern of wards.

If you wish to put forward a view, we would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral wards, make sure you tell us why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

Our website features technical guidance that explains the process and our policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.