NEW wards have been drawn up for council wards in St Helens.
The Local Government Boundary Commission has reviewed the borough to make sure councillors will represent about the same number of electors and that ward arrangements will help the council work effectively.
The independent body has now published final recommendations for changes in St Helens.
It says residents should be represented by 48 councillors, which is the same number as the council has currently.
But there will be 18 wards, two more than currently. There will be one one-councillor ward, four two-councillor wards, and 13 three-councillor wards.
Credit: Contains Ordnance Survey data (c) Crown Copyright and database rights 2020
The boundaries of most of the wards will be changed.
Chair of the Commission Professor Colin Mellors said: “We are very grateful to people in St Helens.
“We looked at all the views they gave us. They helped us improve our earlier proposals.
“We believe the new arrangements will guarantee electoral fairness while maintaining local ties.”
The commission received 115 comments to help decide the new wards.
Changes in response to what local people said include the Commission moving the Hill Top area back into the Rainford ward based on the response of representatives regarding the identity of the local community.
The commission has also moved the Foxwood estate into Thatto Heath ward based on a submission from a resident.
Parliament now needs to agree the changes, with the new arrangements planned to apply for the 2022 council elections.
St Helens Council leader Cllr David Baines has issued a statement on the matter.
He said: “The new ward boundaries better reflect our communities and local identities, and that can only be a good thing.
“I want to thank everyone who took part in the consultation and I thank the Boundary Commission for their work.
“These new wards will be used for next year’s all-out elections when residents will be able to vote for all their local councillors in one go and the council will be sending out information in due course to clarify the new process for all voters.”
For further information on the changes visit https://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/north-west/merseyside/st-helens
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