West Hill Parish Council's Response to Public Consultation: 2023 Review of Parliamentary constituencies
A review of the Parliamentary constituencies is underway. If the proposed changes are agreed West Hill and Ottery St Mary will be in separate constituencies:
- West Hill will be included in a constituency including Exmouth and Cranbrook
- Ottery St Mary would be included in the Honiton constituency
The Boundary Commission for England (BCE)is the independent organisation responsible for reviewing Parliamentary constituency boundaries in England. The public consultation on its proposed map of constituencies closes on Monday 4 April 2022. Their website shows the proposed new boundaries. Please visit the Boundary Commission website for further detail or to submit your comments.
West Hill Parish Council has submitted the following comment:
As the Chairman of the West Hill Parish Council I submit further comment to our previous (BCE-61504) submission.
Councillors OBJECT to West Hill being moved into an EXMOUTH Constituency on very rational and pragmatic grounds. They are:
- West Hill and Ottery St Mary are two miles apart and have been in the same constituency since 1832! (Albeit under different named constituencies).
- Ottery St Mary is the adjacent town that provides the major proportion of services and amenities for West Hill including medical facilities, schooling, shopping, recreational facilities, transport links, voluntary services including the Help Scheme.
- West Hill is known as the ‘Woodland Village’ and is a rural community, set in countryside; whereas the Exmouth Constituency is mainly urban based and focussed on Exeter.
- the Proposed Exmouth Constituency is close to the upper limit of permitted constituency size with known major building development - Cranbrook, and a possibility of yet another new town. To save yet another boundary reshuffle it would be eminently sensible to ensure West Hill is in the proposed Honiton Constituency.
- Honiton is only some 7 miles from West Hill, is a market town and where the District HQ is based.
- Exmouth is 10 miles away, without straightforward public transport links.
- when raising matters with an MP about local services, it is advantageous the MPs constituency covers those services, and not in another MPs area.
In summary, we strongly OBJECT to the separation of West Hill into a different constituency than Ottery St Mary. These communities have long historical bonds, and facilities and amenities are inter- dependent. West Hill should be in the proposed Honiton Constituency.
Cllr Della Cannings, QPM, Chairman West Hill Parish Council
