By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
There are plans to move two areas of Nottinghamshire into a Nottingham city electoral constituency despite opposition from politicians.
The Boundary Commission for England (BCE) is reviewing the areas of parliamentary seats in England, with recommendations due to be published in July 2023.
The proposals suggest removing Kimberley and Nuthall from the Broxtowe Constituency and instead placing them in Nottingham North.
MP for Broxtowe Darren Henry (Con), proposed Kimberley and Nuthall are retained in the Broxtowe Constituency and parts of Beeston are placed into the Nottingham South constituency.
But the boundary commissioners said they were persuaded that Beeston is a “single unified community” and therefore did not wish to split it in two.
The plans are part of nationwide proposals by the Boundary Commission for England, published today (November 8).
A final month-long public consultation will now be held.
The Commission is undertaking an independent review of all constituencies in England as requested by Parliament.
The commission proposed a Nottingham North and Kimberley constituency that would include the Broxtowe wards of Kimberley, Nuthall East & Strelley, and Watnall & Nuthall West.
Broxtowe would then include Eastwood – an idea the commission says has already “received general support”.
But there was “substantial opposition” from the Kimberley, Nuthall East
& Strelley, and Watnall & Nuthall West wards.
Broxtowe Borough Councillor Jill Owen (Con) argued that the Broxtowe wards contain established parish councils and there is a great difference between these communities and the city of Nottingham.
But it was argued that “Beeston is a very cohesive and engaged local community with a very proud and clear community identity”.
The Boundary Commission report stated: “The Assistant Commissioners visited the area and noted that there are good road connections between Beeston and the city of Nottingham, but there was also a substantial clear separation, due to the University of Nottingham campus and Highfields Park.
“When also visiting the Kimberley, Nuthall, and Watnall areas the
Assistant Commissioners observed that the M1 forms a significant boundary
with Nottingham; however, the Assistant Commissioners felt that while this
configuration combines these areas with the City, with which there are not strong local ties, it would be preferable to the counter proposal, which would entail dividing an area where community ties are present.
“The Assistant Commissioners considered that it would be more detrimental to split a community between two constituencies than combine in one constituency two distinct areas without strong links to each other. Accordingly, they did not recommend any changes to the initial proposals for the Broxtowe, and Nottingham North and Kimberley constituencies.”
It was also proposed that two wards from Mansfield, Brick Kiln and Grange Farm, should move into Ashfield Constituency.
There was also opposition to these plans due to the “division of communities” it would cause.
The commissioners said these plans received “the largest number of critical representations in Nottinghamshire”.
Therefore, the recommendations were changed to include the Pleasley Hill and Bull Farm ward and the Lindhurst development of the Berry Hill ward in the Ashfield constituency, returning Brick Kiln and Grange Farm wards to the Mansfield constituency.
There are also recommendations that there are no changes to the Sherwood constituency, except from a change of name to Sherwood Forest.
It is also proposed that the Gedling constituency includes the Dumbles ward, and the Newark constituency expands northwards to include the Bassetlaw local authority wards of Clayworth and Sturton.
A third and final consultation on the new map of revised constituency proposals is open now until 5 December. The public are being invited to view and comment on the new map at https://www.bcereviews.org.uk/.
Tim Bowden, Secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said: “Today’s publication is the culmination of months of analysis and we have revised nearly half of our initial proposals based on what people have told us. We now believe we are close to the best map of constituencies that can be achieved under the rules we are working to.
“However, we still want people to tell us what they think of this latest map before we submit our final recommendations to Parliament next year. This is our final consultation and I encourage you to participate in the 2023 Boundary Review.”
After the final consultation has closed on 5 December, the Commission will analyse the responses and form its final recommendations which will be submitted to Parliament by 1 July 2023.
