Oswestry electoral boundaries need reform

Oswestry's town council boundaries need an overhaul to cope with anomalies that include one ward with one councillor to every 1,000 people and another with one councillor to just 200.

A new housing estate is half in and half out of the town and the town boundary even runs through the middle of one property, a meeting to outline a review of electoral arrangements has been told.

A review of electoral arrangements is currently under way across Shropshire, with Oswestry Town Council chosen as the first area to be looked at.

At a recent meeting of the Oswestry Local Joint Committee, Mr Richard Thomas, head of democratic services, said Oswestry was certainly the most complicated area to review.

"We have to look at the size of councils and of their wards and also the numbers of councillors for each ward.

"Oswestry is a growing town and there will be developments in certain areas which is also something we have to take into consideration."

He pointed out that the Gatacre ward had three councillors but just 600 electors while neighbouring Maserfield also had three councillors but they served an electorate of 3,000.

One of the ideas he said, was to change the boundaries to even out the difference.

"We also need to look at the west of the town in the Trefonen Road and Broomhall Lane area where perhaps the town council boundary needs to change. The boundary here even goes through someone's garden."

The east of the town, where there had been the biggest development so far, will also need to be looked at, Mr Thomas said.

By Sue Austin