Constituency shake up:

A new constituency named Godalming and Ash CC has been proposed by The Boundary Commission for England (BCE), meaning Ash Parish would no longer be a part of Surrey Heath CC.

The Boundary Commission for England has issued proposals to change the current Parliamentary constituency boundaries for 2023 and is asking residents to make comments. Under these plans an entirely new constituency named Godalming and Ash CC (County Constituency) is to be created, which would place Ash Parish at the north and would reach as far south as Alfold.

The 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies was formally launched in January this year and was asked to ensure the number of electors in each constituency is more equal. In so doing, the number of constituencies in England will increase from 533 to 543. There will be a further two rounds of consultation in 2022. Following the conclusion of all three consultation periods, the Commission will look at all the evidence received before forming its final recommendations to Parliament by July 2023.

How are these boundaries decided?

The number of constituencies in the South East will increase from 84 to 91 (including two that must be given to the Isle of Wight). The Boundary Commission in England is required by law, except the two for the Isle of Wight, to propose consistencies which  contain between 69,724 and 77,062 Parliamentary electors (as at 2 March 2020).

The commission tries as far as possible to have regard to local ties, geographic factors, local government boundaries (as they were known at 1 December 2020), existing constituencies, and minimising disruption caused by proposed changes. They use local government wards as the building blocks for proposed constituencies, but will consider splitting a ward if there is a strong case for doing so, provided that it helps the commission respect the factors above.

Initial proposal

Exiting boundaries

The existing boundaries place’s Ash Parish within Surrey Heath at the southernmost edge. The County Constituency reaches from Camberley & Frimley in the west to Brick Hill & Chobham in the east.

Have your say

The proposals to form Godalming and Ash CC and its boundaries are currently under consultation, and you can have your say. The closing date of this statutory consultation period is 2 August 2021. To do so visit https://www.bcereviews.org.uk and enter your post code and click the link above the map “Make a comment”.