The Local Government Boundary Commission has reviewed the Council’s wards and recommended that Bedford Borough should have 28 wards, an increase of one, and 46 councillors, an increase of six.
Of the 28 wards:
- 3 will be three councillor wards
- 12 will be two councillor wards
- 13 will be single councillor wards
As a result of the new ward arrangement, the Council must undertake a full review of all polling districts and polling places for the new wards to ensure that all electors have accessible and convenient facilities to vote from.
You can view our notice of review of polling districts and places here.
You can also find more information about the Electoral Commission’s guidance on the review of polling districts and places here.
Key terms
A Polling district is an area created by the division of a ward into smaller parts, within which a polling place is established. In areas with parishes, each parish should be its own polling district.
A Polling place is a building or area in which polling stations will be located. As far as possible, these should be situated within the polling district for which they are designated. In exceptional circumstances, the polling place may be designated outside the polling district.
A Polling station is a room or building where voting actually takes place. There can be more than one polling station in a polling place, which is common in many areas. Wherever possible, there should be no more than 2500 electors allotted to a polling station.
Polling station finder
You can view an interactive map of the current and proposed locations of polling places here.
You can also find a list of ward and polling district maps.
Review of polling districts and places timetable
|
Date |
Action |
|---|---|
|
15 June 2022 |
Publish Notice of Holding Polling District and Place Review |
|
15 June 2022 |
Consult the (Acting) Returning Officer for every parliamentary Constituency which is wholly or partly in the area of the review |
|
June – August 2022 |
Publish all representations made by an (Acting) Returning Officer within 30 days of receipt |
|
15 June – 10 August 2022 |
8 weeks consultation period; including officer visits to polling places and the direct consultation with the Accessibility Forum Group and invite responses from Parish Councils. |
|
10 August 2022 |
End of consultation period |
|
13 September 2022 |
General Purposes Committee – present interim update report |
|
1 November 2022 |
General Purposes Committee – present final report |
|
30 November 2022 |
Full Council – Chair of General Purposes Committee to present final report |
How to have your say
The Council welcomes proposals and/or comments from:
- any interested person within the Council or within a UK parliamentary constituency which has a part in the Borough
- sitting Councillors, past or potential candidates and local political parties
- disabled residents and from individuals or groups and organisations who have experience in making facilities and premises accessible, for those who have a disability
Interested persons may make a representation about any aspect of the polling districts or polling places which are to be used at future elections.
Anyone commenting on the suitability of existing or proposed polling places is asked to provide suggestions for alternative venues, where possible, to assist the review process.
You can comment and contribute to the review by sending an email to pollingplacereview@bedford.gov.uk.
What happens next
Once the review has been completed, the Council will publish all correspondence sent and received, the results of the review, and the reasons for its decisions.
