Thousands of people across Nottinghamshire will be affected by planned changes which will alter who they vote for at the next general election. People living in some areas that are currently part of locations including Mansfield and Broxtowe could be choosing an MP for a different area when the next nationwide vote takes place.
The changes are being made so that parliamentary constituencies reflect the most recent changes to their population size. The plans will affect which area residents will be electing an MP for.
The review is being carried out by the Boundary Commission for England and it made its first recommendations in 2021. Two rounds of consultation have taken place since and the commission has now released its latest and final plans.
A report has to be made to the House of Commons by next July and the public are now being invited to have their say in the final consultation, which ends on December 5. Below is a summary of the latest plans for each of Nottinghamshire's eleven constituencies.
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Ashfield (Represented by Conservative MP Lee Anderson)
Ashfield will gain the Pleasley Hill and Bull Farm wards of Mansfield alongside the Lindhurst development in Berry Hill. Councillor Jason Zadrozny, the leader of Ashfield District Council, originally proposed a plan to bring the Hucknall West ward into Ashfield.
But Mark Spencer, the MP for Sherwood, said that such a move would "create confusion for residents." Councillor Zadrozny eventually supported the plans for Ashfield to take on the three previously mentioned Mansfield areas. Ashfield will also lose Eastwood to the Broxtowe constituency.
Bassetlaw (Represented by Conservative MP Brendan Clarke-Smith)
Bassetlaw will lose areas including Sturton-le-Steeple and Clayworth to Newark. But the commission says its plans for Bassetlaw were mostly supported and that the main point of opposition was on changing the constituency's name to Worksop and Retford.
Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith was among those who opposed this name change, with arguments being made that this name had existed for 130 years. The commission has therefore agreed to keep the current name.
Broxtowe (Represented by Conservative MP Darren Henry)
Broxtowe will lose areas of Kimberley and Nuthall to the Nottingham North constituency. This plan received opposition from figures including the Broxtowe MP Darren Henry, who suggested a counter-proposal which has been rejected.
Broxtowe Borough Council, however, supported the changes. Broxtowe will also extend into the Eastwood area, currently forming part of Ashfield.
Gedling (Represented by Conservative MP Tom Randall)
An expansion of the Gedling constituency is on the cards under the Boundary Commission's plans. Gedling will now include areas of Woodborough, Lambley and Bestwood St Albans, which are currently part of the Sherwood constituency.
The Boundary Commission says it received some opposition to these plans, with some saying that "there is a lack of community ties and disparities in the requirements between the rural areas of Lambley and Woodborough." A counter-proposal was also put forward to include the Dumbles ward in the Sherwood constituency rather than Gedling, but the commission says "this was not possible without widespread disruption" and all its plans for Gedling have therefore remained the same.
Mansfield (Represented by Conservative MP Ben Bradley)
The Boundary Commission says it needed to transfer some voters out of the current Mansfield constituency as it said it was currently too large. It therefore planned to transfer the Brick Kiln and Grange Farm wards to the Ashfield constituency.
But speaking about the opposition it had to this plan, including from Mansfield MP Ben Bradley, the Boundary Commission said: "Residents commented that these wards form part of the wider Ladybrook Estate, which has a strong local identity and extends into the centre of Mansfield. These respondents argued that the Brick Kiln and Grange Farm wards ‘constitute a very major and integral part of the Town of Mansfield’ and have ‘no affinity towards Sutton'."
A counter-proposal was therefore put forward to include the Pleasley Hill and Bull Farm wards, as well as the new Lindhurst development in Berry Hill, within the Ashfield constituency. The commission has agreed to this counter-proposal, meaning Mansfield will lose the Pleasley Hill and Bull Farm areas, as well as the Lindhurst development in Berry Hill.
Speaking about the Mansfield plans, the town's Mayor, Andy Abrahams, said: "I want to make it clear to all our residents that if these proposals go forward, the delivery of your statutory services, including the emptying of bins, will still be provided by Mansfield District Council. You will see no changes to any of your daily services.
"These changes are purely at a parliamentary level, so this is who you will be represented by at Westminster. The number of electors within each constituency currently varies widely due to population changes since the last boundary review.
"This new 2023 review will rebalance the number of electors each MP represents, resulting in changes to the existing constituency map. I would encourage all our residents to have their say on these proposals and make their voices heard on who represents your ward going forward."
Newark (Represented by Conservative MP Robert Jenrick)
The new proposed Newark constituency will extend further south into areas of Rushcliffe and further north into areas of Bassetlaw. It will also lose some areas to the Sherwood constituency, including parts of Hoveringham, Lowdham and Thurgarton.
Its move further south will see parts of Shelford, Newton and Barnstone becoming part of Newark. Its move further north will see parts of Sturton-le-Steeple and Clayworth becoming part of Newark.
The Boundary Commission says it received some comments that suggested that Clayworth should be part of Bassetlaw and that Newark should instead extend even further south into Keyworth and Radcliffe. There was also a counter-proposal to include Beckingham in Newark.
But the commission says the counter-proposals would be "very disruptive to the existing constituencies and local authority boundaries throughout Nottinghamshire." Its plans for Newark will therefore stay the same.
Nottingham East (Represented by Labour MP Nadia Whittome)
The Boundary Commission's original plan was to extend Nottingham East to include the whole of Nottingham's Castle ward, along with other minor changes. These plans received general support and stayed the same.
Nottingham North (Represented by Labour MP Alex Norris)
In Nottingham, the Boundary Commission wanted one of its three constituencies to cross over the city boundary. It proposed that this should happen in the Nottingham North constituency, with a plan for this to extend into the Broxtowe areas of Kimberley and Nuthall.
The commission says that Conservative Party members including Broxtowe MP Darren Henry suggested a counter-proposal of parts of Beeston being included in the Nottingham South constituency. But the Boundary Commission has rejected this plan.
The commission said: "While we acknowledge that there may be weak community ties within the Nottingham North and Kimberley constituency, we were particularly persuaded by the arguments made to prevent the alternative of a division of Beeston, as it is a single unified community." This constituency is therefore set to be named Nottingham North and Kimberley.
Nottingham South (Represented by Labour MP Lilian Greenwood)
The original plans for Nottingham South also included an expansion, with this one being further north to include Bilborough. These plans have stayed the same after receiving support from figures including current Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood.
Sherwood (Represented by Conservative MP Mark Spencer)
Sherwood will gain areas currently forming part of the Newark constituency including parts of Lowdham, Thurgarton and Hoveringham. The Boundary Commission says these plans were "largely uncontentious."
But the commission added: "We did, however, receive a number of representations wishing the name of the constituency to be Sherwood Forest, for example Mark Spencer MP argued that there was confusion with the existing name of Sherwood, as it is also the name of a City of Nottingham council ward. Respondents also argued that the constituency comprises wards from the Ashfield and Gedling local authorities, with the majority of electors actually located outside the Newark and Sherwood local authority.
"They proposed the name Sherwood Forest would 'reflect the immense history and heritage of the area'." The Boundary Commission has agreed to this name change.
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