Have your say on new political ward map for Bedford

New boundaries are being proposed for council wards in Bedford Borough Council.

The Local Government Boundary Commission wants to hear what residents and organisations think about the proposals. An eight-week consultation will run until July 5.

Proposed changes include:

>Castle ward will now cover all of the Castle Road area

>Wixams and Wilstead will now be in the same ward, along with Stewartby and most of Elstow

After considering responses to its earlier consultation, the commission has refined its initial proposals for changes to Bedford Borough Council.

Its initial proposal that there should be 46 councillors remains. However, it now proposes there should be 28 wards, rather than 29.

Refinements also include moving from 17 two-councillor and 12 single-councillor wards to three wards which each have three councillors, 12 wards with two councillors each, and 13 single-councillor wards.

Professor Colin Mellors, chairman of the commission, said: “We want people in Bedford to help us.

“We have drawn up proposals for new wards in Bedford. We want to make sure these new electoral arrangements reflect communities. We also want them to be easy to understand and convenient for local people.

“Residents and local organisations can help us do that. We would like them to let us know whether they agree with our proposals before we take final decisions.”

The commission has a dedicated section on its website where people can see the proposals and comment on the names of wards, their boundaries and the number of councillors per ward.

People can also give their views by email at [email protected], and by post to The Review Officer (Bedford), LGBCE, PO Box 133, Blyth, NE24 9FE