Electoral Review of Mid Sussex District Council 2021

The Local Government Boundary Commission (England) [LGBCE] is conducting an Electoral Review of Mid Sussex District Council.

How to get involved

This is a public consultation and the LGBCE welcomes views from individuals and organisations across Mid Sussex on where they think new ward boundaries should be drawn.

LGBCE is minded to recommend that 48 councillors should be elected to Mid Sussex District Council in the future.

This is six fewer than the current number of councillors.

LGBCE is now inviting proposals to help them draw up a pattern of wards to accommodate 48 councillors.

In drawing up new electoral wards, they must balance three legal criteria, namely:

• to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the district;
• that the pattern of wards should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
• that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

The LGBCE will treat all submissions equally and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.

If you wish to put forward a view, we would urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral ward, make sure you explain why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

There is more advice on the LGBCE website about how you can get involved in the consultation.

The LGBCE website features technical guidance that explains the process and their policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.

They have also set up a webpage dedicated to the review of Mid Sussex, where you can find all the relevant information.

You can also access interactive maps of the current ward boundaries across Mid Sussex on their specialist consultation portal. The portal also allows you to comment and upload documents directly to the site. 

Review timetable

Activity	Involvement		Completion Dates
	Council	LGBCE
Consultation on warding patterns	Council Political Groups General Public	Conduct public consultation, collate & analyse responses.	23 March 2021 – 31 May 2021
Consultation on Draft Recommendations	Council Political Groups General Public	Publish draft recommendations. Conduct public consultation, collate & analyse responses.	3 August 2021 – 11 October 2021
Final Recommendations - Publication	Not required	Commission	January 2022