Polling Districts, Places & Stations Review 2023

Since October 2013, all local authorities have been required by law to review their polling districts, polling places, and polling stations for Parliamentary Constituences every five years. The review period starts in October, and must be completed within 16 months of this. Each authority may choose the exact dates and length of their review; however it must fall within this window. The current statutory review period is from October 2023 to Jan 2025 although it is good practice to complete before the next General Election is called.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) completed a review for new electoral arragements in Redditch Borough Council. This was completed in January 2023 and made into law in June 2023. More information on the LGBCE review can be found here. 

As the LGBCE review creates new electoral wards in Redditch Borough the Council must review it's local polling districts, places and stations before the next set of Local Elections in May 2024. A Local Review concluded on 26 September 2023.

The results of this review have been fed into the statutory review for Redditch Borough Council which commenced on 2 October 2023 and concluded in December 2023.

The definition of the terms for the items being reviewed are:

• A 'polling district' is a geographical subdivision of an electoral area such as a district ward within which a polling place is designate.
• A 'polling place' is defined as the building or area in which a polling station resides.
• A 'polling station' is the room or area within a polling place where voting takes place. Unlike polling districts and polling places which are fixed by the local authority, polling stations are chosen by the (Acting) Returning Officer.

The review requires the council to:

• Seek to ensure that all the electors in the constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances.
• Seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable, the polling places they are responsible for are accessible to all electors, and when considering the designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons.
• Seek to ensure that polling places are within their polling district unless special circumstances make it desirable to designate an area outside the polling district.

The (Acting) Returning Officer is required to decide how many polling stations are needed for each polling place and to allocate electors to the polling stations in such a manner she thinks most convenient.

The following is not considered as part of the review:

• The changing of polling districts in areas which are also aligned with parish boundaries and therefore cannot be amended during this review (these can only be amended during a Community Governance Review).

Maps of the recommended polling places within the new wards can be found in the links below:

Astwood Bank & Feckenham Ward

Batchley & Brockhill Ward

Central Ward

Greenlands & Lakeside Ward

Headless Cross & Oakenshaw Ward

Matchborough Ward

North Ward

Webheath & Callow Hill Ward

Winyates Ward

If you are unsure of what ward you will be voting in next year please contact Electoral Services via the email on this webpage.

Information is also on deposit at the Town Hall, Walter Stranz Square, Redditch.

Links to the background papers and interactive map setting out the current situation of polling districts and places within Redditch is available in the related documents section of this page.

The consultation has now closed and submissions and results of the review are on this page