Boundary Commission: the final verdict

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has now issued its final recommendations for new Division boundaries for Kent County Council, to come into force at the elections in 2017. They will be laid before Parliament in a draft order in the coming months before being formally adopted.

As I wrote in the autumn, the Boundary Commission revised significantly its earlier proposals for Sevenoaks District. It was already established that, as part of the reduction in size of the County Council from 84 Members to 81, Sevenoaks would lose one Division. It has also long been clear that the undersized Swanley division would have to expand to the South, taking in Christchurch and High Firs polling districts. But in other respects, the Commission's revisions were very significant regarding Darent Valley; bringing Swanley Village back in rather than incorporating it into Swanley, putting transferring Badgers Mount to Sevenoaks West, and expanding a renamed Sevenoaks East and Darent Valley to the south and east as far as Seal.

Following a further consultation, the Commission has stuck with these revised recommendations. Swanley Christchurch and High Firs go into an enlarged Swanley Division, but Swanley Village stays in what will now be the Sevenoaks North & Darent Valley Division. In spite of strong representations to the contrary from the Parish Council and others (including me), Badgers Mount is transferred to the Sevenoaks West Division, which will run down the western County border as far as Westerham. 

All other parishes in the existing Darent Valley will remain in the successor Division, and will be joined in it by Otford, Kemsing and Seal. The result will be a very large Division indeed, in terms both of area (especially north-south) and in terms of electors per County Councillor (at 15,629, the second highest in the County).

You can find full details of the Review, including maps, on the LGBCE's website.

Boundary change proposals: the effect on Darent Valley

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has over the last year or so been conducting a review of Kent County Council's electoral divisions. Today it issued revised proposals for the Sevenoaks District area.

The Boundary Commission proposes a modest reduction in the number of KCC Members, from the current 84 across Kent to 81. Sevenoaks, which has seen much smaller population growth than many other parts of the County, is set to reduce from 7 Members to 6.

Some of the implications of this for Darent Valley are fairly clear. To its north, the Swanley Division is relatively small and will need to expand. Since a Division cannot cross District or Borough lines, Swanley can only expand to the south, into the contiguous sections of Darent Valley.

Under the Boundary Commission's original proposals, published in May with a consultation that ran through until July, the whole of the Swanley Town Council area, as well as Hextable, would be taken into the Swanley Division. Darent Valley would therefore lose Swanley Christ Church, the High Firs area and Swanley Village. It would, however, expand to the south, taking in Otford and Dunton Green, while adding Knockholt and Halstead to Badgers Mount (the latter three together currently make up a District ward). The remainder of the Division - Shoreham (including Well Hill and East Hill), Eynsford, Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth - would remain within it.

However, following initial consultation and a number of representations (including an alternative proposal from Sevenoaks District Council), the Boundary Commission has brought forward significantly revised proposals. Under these, while Swanley Christ Church and High Firs would still leave Darent Valley, Swanley Village would remain. Badgers Mount would leave the Division, joining Halstead and Knockholt in Sevenoaks West. To the south, Otford would still come into the Division but Dunton Green would not; however, Kemsing and Seal would come in. The new Division - rather cumbersomely named Sevenoaks East and Darent Valley - would be very large, running from the north of the District and the London boundary to the south-east of Sevenoaks town (which, in contrast to the Boundary Commission's earlier proposals, is the centre of one Division rather than being split between two - almost certainly a key factor in the adoption of new proposals). You can see a map of the proposed new Divisions here.

Sevenoaks was the only District in the County for which the Boundary Commission's original proposals were amended; these are now subject to a stand alone consultation. This closes on 26 October and the final recommendations will be published on 19 January 2016.