By Maria Zaccaro, Local Democracy Reporter
The review could mean that the number of councillors as well as the number and size of wards could be changed.
Council leader Cllr Daniel Fitzhenry (Con) said “there could potentially be a new ward” and that central wards such as Bargate, Freemantle and Bevois are now “too big”.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has said it will carry out a review of wards in Southampton “to ensure that councillors represent about the same number of people across the city”.
An initial public consultation is to take place between November 23, 2021 and January 31, 2022. Residents will be asked to have their say on the number and names of wards, where the boundaries should lie and the number of councillors per ward.
Views will then be used to draw up a set of proposals.
A second round of public consultations on detailed plans is expected to start in mid-May 2022 with the final recommendation “likely” to be published in September 2022.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England said: “If the order is passed through Parliament, there will be an all-out election in 2023 based on the new electoral arrangements. At this stage we are not able to predict any changes that could be made to the electoral arrangements or which wards in particular will be affected without undergoing public consultation.”
Cllr Satvir Kaur, leader of the Labour opposition, said she welcomed “any election opportunities to take back the council”.
“There has been a growing imbalance between the sizes of wards within the city, which hopefully can be addressed through this process,” she said.
There are currently 16 wards and 48 councillors in the city. Each ward has three councillors, with one (usually) completing their term of office each year, and just their seat being put up for election.
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