Northumberland County Council Electoral Review – Final Recommendations.
Published: October, 2023
The final recommendations of the Local Government Boundary Review for Northumberland County Council have been published.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is the independent body that draws these boundaries. It has reviewed Northumberland to make sure councillors will represent about the same number of electors, and that division arrangements will help the council work efficiently and effectively.
The LGBCE has published final recommendations for changes in Northumberland; stating that residents should be represented by 69 councillors, which is two more than under current arrangements.
What does it mean for Seaton Valley?
In the LGBCE’s previous recommendations, it proposed that New Hartley village was split and joined with New Delaval; in Newsham to create a New Delaval & New Hartley electoral division. During the public consultation on these recommendations, the commission received 89 submissions opposing this suggestion.
The representations offered a wealth of evidence illustrating the strong sense of community ties across New Hartley, arguing that that community ties would be undermined and broken by the proposed arrangement.
In their final recommendations, the LGBCE has proposed to leave the village of New Hartley in the existing Harley electoral division and create a new division of Cramlington East & Double Row, which contains parts of Cramlington Parish and Seaton Valley Parish.
The new division will be made up of the existing Cramlington East electoral division and will include Double Row, the Wheatfields Estate and all the homes north of the railway line that are currently in the Seghill with Seaton Delaval electoral division.
Despite the recommendations, the Seaton Valley Community Council neighbourhood area is not changing, and we will continue to provide our services to the whole of Seaton Valley, that includes the area recommended to be included in the new electoral division.
When approved, we will continue to work with the elected councillors of Northumberland County Council who represent the Seaton Valley area.
Details of the LGBCE’s changes to its earlier proposals can be found on its website at www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/northumberland
The changes become law once Parliament has approved them. Staff at Northumberland County Council will ensure that the arrangements are in place for the 2025 elections.