Proposals to update polling districts and polling places in the London Borough of Hounslow
Consultation has concluded
Background
The Council has been conducting a statutory review of all polling districts, polling places, and polling stations in the borough. This review is mandated by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 and must be held between October 2023 and January 2025.
The aim of the review is to ensure that all polling districts, polling places, and polling stations in the borough effectively meet the needs of all voters. In accordance with the new regulations from the Elections Act, every polling station must be accessible to disabled voters or have the capability to be made accessible.
As part of this review, the Council were required to conduct a public consultation to invite residents and stakeholders to provide responses to the Council’s proposed polling districts and polling places. The consultation took place from 5 August 2024 until 2 September 2024.
Summary of Proposals
The Council consulted on a series of proposals and initially proposed that the polling districts and polling places remained the same in all wards, except for the below:
- Bedfont – a new polling district to be created, with Bedfont Primary School to be designated as the polling place. The new polling place will be in polling district BDB, with the other polling districts renamed for administration purposes.
- Cranford – a new polling district to be created, with a Mobile Unit at Aston Green to be designated as the polling place. The new polling place will be in polling district CFC, with other polling districts renames for administration purposes.
- Chiswick Gunnersbury – a new polling district to be created, with Gunnersbury Baptist Church to be designated as the polling place. The new polling place will be in polling district CGC, with the other polling districts renamed for administration purposes.
- Hounslow West – the polling district codes to be renamed to ensure they are in the correct order.
- Syon and Brentford Lock – to merge polling districts SBB and SBE for administrative efficiency.
Summary and Final Decision
A total of 15 responses were received during the consultation period.
These responses were collated and assessed for feasibility. The final proposals will be presented to the Audit and Governance Committee on 7 October 2024, for recommendation to Borough Council on 26 November 2024. Once the report is available, a link will appear on this page.
For further information, please contact:
Email: elections@hounslow.gov.uk
Phone: 020 8583 2828
Key Terms
A polling district is a geographical sub-division of a local borough ward (an electoral area). Every local borough ward is divided into one or more polling districts.
A polling place is a geographical area in which a polling station is located. There is no legal definition of what a polling place is, the geographical area could be defined as tightly as a particular building or as widely as the entire polling district.
A polling station is the room or area within the polling place where voting takes place. Unlike polling districts and polling places which are fixed by the Local Authority, polling stations are chosen by the Returning Officer for the election.
