What is this review?
In September 2021, Parliament approved the new electoral arrangements for North Kesteven District Council, which takes effect from 4 May 2023.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) completed the review during 2019/2021 and concluded residents should be represented by 43 councillors; the same number as there are now. The electoral ward boundaries across North Kesteven have been redrawn to ensure every councillor represents a more equal number of voters. From 2023, there will be 24 wards in North Kesteven changing 18 of the current ward boundaries while six will remain the same.
A PDF map of the new district ward boundaries is available to view in the downloads section on this page.
The key changes are shown in the table below:
| Current NKDC structure | New NKDC structure (2023) |
|---|---|
| 43 District Councillors | 43 District Councillors |
| 26 District wards | 24 District wards |
| 12 x single Member wards | 9 x single-Member wards |
| 11 x two Member wards | 11 x two-Member wards |
| 3 x three Member wards | 4 x three-Member wards |
The LGBCE held two public consultations on the new proposals for NKDC and published their Final Recommendations in January 2021, which were approved by Parliament on 17 September 2021.
Why was the electoral review needed?
Several wards in North Kesteven had too many or too few electors per councillor than the average for the Council as a whole. There were 34% of wards with a variance +/- 10% from the average electorate for the District, two wards had an electoral imbalance of over 20% and one ward had an electorate variance of -30%.
The review has restored the electoral equality from 2023 making it easier for residents to have access to a Ward Councillor and fairer for Members in terms of the number of residents they represent.
Timetable for the electoral review
- November 2019 – NKDC gives electoral information to LGBCE
- December 2019 – Number of Councillors decided
- 7 January 2019 – Start of consultation asking for views on new ward boundaries
- 16 March 2020 – End of consultation. LGBCE analyses responses received and forms draft new ward boundary recommendations
- 11 August 2020 – LGBCE publishes new draft recommendations and start of second consultation
- 19 October 2020 – End of consultation. LGBCE analyses responses received and forms final new ward boundary recommendations
- 11 January 2021– LGBCE published final recommendations
- 14 June 2021 – Final Recommendations put before Parliament for approval
- 17 September 2021 – Parliament approve Final Recommendations
- 2022 to May 2023 – NKDC implement the Electoral Review changes
- 4 May 2023 – NKDC District Councillor elections held using new electoral arrangements