New Parliamentary boundary for Westbury being considered in final stage of review

WESTBURY’S Parliamentary constituency boundary could be moved to Warminster and Shaftesbury according to the recently-published revised proposals by The Boundary Commission.

Westbury is currently part of South West Wiltshire, along with Trowbridge, but this could change as part of the 2018 review which, set by Parliament,  is aiming to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600, and reduce the amount of constituencies from 533 to 501.

The Boundary Commission for England is an independent and impartial advisory public body which reviews the boundaries of Parliamentary constituencies in England.

The first proposal of the boundaries was released in 2016. This was followed by a public enquiry presenting over 25,000 comments to the board. These were then analysed and allowed the board to understand local issues and were the force behind the changes to the plans in the release of the revised proposal in October last year.

The revised proposals are now available to view around the country or via www.bce2018.org.uk. In Wiltshire, the places in which you can view them are:  Monkton Park Offices, Monkton Hill, Chippenham SN15 1ER, Crossmolina Buildings, Snuff Street, Devizes SN10 1FG, Bourne Hill, Salisbury SP1 3UZ,  County Hall, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge BA14 8JN, Warminster Library, Three Horseshoes Walk, Warminster BA12 9BT.

In 2017 there was an additional public forum where the public were asked to comment on the revised plans which closed on 11th December. The Boundary Commission received another 10,000 comments which are now also being analysed. Parliament has asked for their final proposals in September this year. It is then up to Parliament to choose whether or not they adopt the new boundaries.

Sam Hartley, Secretary to the commission said, “We know we haven’t been able to please everyone – when you’re looking for the best solution across the country as a whole, as we have to, it can be tough to address specific areas. What we can guarantee is that we will consider again any evidence that has been received in this final consultation before making decisions.”

For more information about the Boundary Commission for England or the 2018 review please visit www.bce2018.org.uk