* A map of the proposed new Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr
constituency, which includes Llangollen.
Electors in Llangollen may soon have to get
used to living in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Maldwyn a Glyndŵr).
That’s because the present Clwyd South is proposed for
the axe in a major review of parliamentary constituencies being proposed by the
Boundary Commission for Wales (BCW).
And people now have just a couple of days to have their
say on the plan as the eight-week consultation period comes to an end this
Wednesday.
The shake-up aims to redraw the
political map of Wales.
Old
constituency names will disappear, such as Clwyd South, Arfon, Vale of Clwyd
and Clwyd West.
The
proposals from the BCW, published in the summer, follow a decision to reduce
the number of Welsh seats in Westminister from 40 to 32.
Under
rules set out in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, each constituency
proposed by the Boundary Commission for Wales must contain between 69,724 and
77,062 electors.
Some
constituencies will see changed names while some are fully absorbed into
neighbouring constituencies.
Previous Boundary Commission
proposals were abandoned because it wasn’t possible to get them through
Parliament.
In making its recommendations, the BCW says it considered geography -
such as lakes, rivers, and mountains - and current boundaries such as local
authority and ward boundaries.
The commission also considered local ties, such as shared history and
culture.
If the plan is approved by the UK Parliament, Llangollen will become
part of the new Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Maldwyn a
Glyndŵr) constituency.
This, says the BCW, would combine the
existing Montgomeryshire constituency with wards from Wrexham and Denbighshire.
Included would be nine wards from the old Clwyd South
constituency and three wards from the old Clwyd West constituency.
As
well as existing Montgomeryshire wards, the new constituency would have the
following wards (electorate size in brackets):
Clwyd
South (Wrexham) – Cefn (3,768), Dyffryn Ceiriog/Ceiriog Valley (1,685), Chirk
North (1,846), Chirk South (1,503), Llangollen Rural (1,631), Penycae (1,525),
Penycae and Ruabon South (2,026), Plas Madoc (1,169) and Ruabon (2,078).
Clwyd
South (Denbighshire) – Corwen (1,799), Llandrillo (931) and Llangollen (3,302).
Size: 72,363 electors, 1.4% below the UK quota.
Proposed name: Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr. The official
alternative is Maldwyn a Glyndŵr.
Why? Existing electorates in the Montgomeryshire
and Clwyd South constituencies are too small.
The
Commission chose to combine the existing Montgomeryshire constituency with an
area that effectively forms the southern electoral wards of the former Glyndŵr
district council.
All of the responses to the first consultation are to be published and
there is a six-week period of 'secondary consultation', during which people can
give their views to BCW on what others have said in the first consultation.
During this six-week period, BCW will also hold a limited number of
public hearings across Wales, more details of which will be made available
closer to the time, it says.
After analysing all the responses from the first and second
consultations, the commission will make appropriate changes to its initial
proposals and publish these revised proposals for a final four-week period of
public consultation in late 2022.
After analysing all the responses to the third consultation, BCW will
make appropriate changes to its revised proposals, and submit the final report
and recommendations by July 1, 2023.
* Full details of the boundary proposals can be found
at: https://www.bcw-reviews.org.uk/node/6468?postcode=LL208EQ
Before the closing date of November 3, the public can send their
views on the proposals to an online consultation portal at bcw-reviews.org.uk,
which features the proposals in full.
People
can also emailing bcw@boundaries.wales or write to the Boundary Commission for
Wales, Hastings House, Cardiff, CF24 0BL.
