Littlehampton’s voting map changes bordering on the ‘confusing’

BOUNDARY changes for Littlehampton Town Council have been slammed as “confusing” and “disgraceful”.

The final recommendations by the Boundary Commission are for the town council to be split into eight wards – there are five at present.

There is no appeal against the decision, although it now goes before Parliament, and town and Arun councillor Mike Northeast has called for an urgent meeting with the town’s MP Nick Gibb to discuss what steps to take.

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The changes have been made in a review which also assessed Arun wards, although far fewer sweeping changes resulted for the district council.

Town clerk Peter Herbert has written to the commission expressing the town council’s “frustration and disappointment”.

He criticises the wide variation in the number of electors served by each councillor in the proposals, with a lone councillor in a new Cornfield ward serving an estimated 253 voters based on figures for 2018, while the new Courtwick with Toddington ward would have two councillors for 3,967 electors, an average of 1,984 per councillor.

Pointing to the greater power wielded by voters in smaller wards, he adds: “This is plainly iniquitous and unjust.”

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The town clerk accuses the commission of ignoring community interests and identities by, for example, removing the part of town known as Ham from the Ham ward.

“This will only cause confusion among residents and is plainly wrong. In addition, you have now created tiny wards with no community identity and have wholly misunderstood the very strong community of Wick, which encompasses your proposed Wick and Ham wards.”

Mr Northeast accused the commission of a “total carve-up” of the town council wards, which would cause confusion among voters by no longer following boundaries currently shared with Arun.

The commission, he said, had ignored a cross-party proposal by the town council taking the same boundaries as the Arun wards “which would cut down on the confusion, reunite communities, and pay regard and respect to deprivation issues”.

He feared the “disgraceful” changes would lead to his own ward, Ham, no longer being classed as deprived, and resulting in some of the most vulnerable people in society missing out on help in future.