Notice of Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places

In accordance with the requirements of Section 18C(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, notice is hereby given that Boston Borough Council is undertaking a review of polling districts and polling places for use in connection with parliamentary elections held within the constituency of Boston and Skegness (part thereof).

Under the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, all local authorities must undertake a review of all polling districts and polling places by 31 January 2020.  Subsequent reviews must then take place every five years.

Polling districts are the areas into which Borough wards are divided and polling places are the locations of buildings in which polling stations are established.

A review of the polling districts and polling places used for elections within the Boston Borough Council area commenced on 5 November 2018 with the publication of the Notice of Review.

View the list of current polling districts and polling places for more information.

What does the review cover?

The review requires us to:

• Seek to ensure that all the electors in the area have reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances;

• Seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable, every polling place is accessible to electors who are disabled and when considering the designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons;

Please note that the following are not considered as part of the review:-

The changing of any ward boundaries (which can only be done by statute following an electoral review carried out by the Local Government Boundary commission).  This review is concerned only with the administrative subdivision of the wards into polling districts which are then assigned polling places.

Or,

The changing of polling districts in areas that are also aligned with Parish boundaries and therefore cannot be amended during this review.

The review process

The review started on 5 November 2018 and will be completed in January 2019.  The (Acting) Returning Officer will prepare proposals for the future polling arrangements and these will be published on 26 November 2018.  A consultation period will then run from 27 November to 17 December.

During the review representations and feedback on any aspect of the allocated polling areas or polling stations will be sought from:

• Members of Parliament

• Borough Councillors

• County Councillors

• Parish Councils via Parish Clerks

• Political Parties (who have stood at recent elections)

• Disability and Access Groups

• Persons / organisations with expertise in relation to premises or facilities for disabled persons

• In addition, any elector in the Boston Borough area can make a representation, which must include proposals for specified alternative polling places.

What happens next?

The (Acting) Returning Officer’s draft proposals will be published here from 26 November.  Anyone wishing to make representations on these proposals should submit their comments in writing by not later than 17 December 2018 to:  Polling District and Polling Places Review, Electoral Services, Boston Borough Council, Municipal Buildings, West Street, Boston PE21 8QR or by e-mail to Elreg@boston.gov.uk

Details of all representations received during the consultation will be published as part of the review.

A report outlining the proposals will be debated at the meeting of the Full Council on 21 January 2019 and a Notice of Conclusion of the Review will then be published.

For further information please contact the electoral services team on 01205 314224 or by e-mail Elreg@boston.gov.uk