Extraordinary meeting for Wellingborough councillors over proposed boundary changes

The extraordinary meeting is taking place next week

Members of Wellingborough Council will be asked to consider their response to the current review of parliamentary boundaries at next week’s meeting before submitting their views by December 5.

If the proposals are approved, Finedon ward would become part of the proposed Kettering parliamentary constituency, Harrowden and Sywell ward would become part of the proposed Daventry and Lutterworth constituency, Wollaston and Bozeat wards would become part of the proposed Northampton South constituency and Irthlingborough Waterloo and Irthlingborough John Pyel wards would become part of the proposed Wellingborough constituency.

A report prepared ahead of the meeting says: “The review of parliamentary boundaries makes proposals which have a significant effect on the constituents in the existing Wellingborough constituency.”

Officers have recommended that the council raises a number of concerns with the Boundary Commission for England in relation to the review of parliamentary constituencies 2018.

The concerns include that division of the borough of Wellingborough between four parliamentary constituencies would add to the loss of the ‘identity of the borough as a historical and well understood unit.’

A series of public meetings have been organised by MP for Wellingborough Peter Bone, who is opposing the proposed changes.

Meetings have already been held in Bozeat, Finedon and Wollaston, and a further meeting is taking place at Isham Village Hall at 6.30pm on Friday (November 18).

Concerns about the proposed changes have also been raised elsewhere in the county.

Cllr Mick Scrimshaw, who represents Kettering’s William Knibb ward and is leader of the opposition on Kettering Council, said: “It’s not going to affect Kettering as much as Wellingborough and Corby, but it’s a waste of time.

“If we are talking about Finedon, people are going to have Wellingborough councillors but a Kettering MP and that will be confusing.

“In a couple of years time when there’s 4,000 or 5,000 people at Kettering East, they’ll have to look at it again.

“it’s a crazy, crazy system.”

The extraordinary meeting of Wellingborough Council is being held at 7pm on Tuesday, November 22, in the council chamber at Swanspool House in Wellingborough.