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Review of polling districts and polling places

Under the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 council's must complete a review of polling districts and polling places at least once every 5 years in a compulsory review period.

The next scheduled review will commence on 2 October 2023.

How we carry out a review

The following considerations were taken into account when reviewing polling districts and polling places. 

The first 2 are required by electoral law and the others are best practice:

  • we must seek to ensure all electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances
  • we must seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable every polling place is accessible to electors who are disabled
  • ideally, the polling place should be in its own polling district
  • no polling place should be shared by 2 wards
  • where possible, 'natural' boundaries should be used, such as railways, major roads, etc.
  • all properties in a minor road or estate should, ideally, be in the same polling district.

You can find ward maps for the all polling districts in Ashfield and Sherwood in our mapping section. 

What does the review involve?

The review must be carried out to make sure that all electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances.

On commencing the review a notice will be published with details of the review, including when and where comments or representations can be made.

Any elector in the constituency may make a representation in relation to the size and boundaries of polling districts and the location and suitability of polling places. The council also welcomes comments or representations from any Councillors in the area, past or potential candidates, local political parties and indeed any person or body with expertise in access for persons with any type of disability. 

On completion of the review, we will publish all correspondence sent and received, details of the results of the review including any issues raised and any changes which have been approved, giving the reasons for its decisions.

What is a Polling District?

A polling district is a geographical sub-division of an electoral area.

For voting purposes, each Parliamentary constituency and every local government ward is divided into one or more polling districts. Wherever possible the polling districts for local government elections mirror that agreed for parliamentary elections.

What is a polling place?

A polling place is a geographical area in which a polling station is located.  However, there is no legal definition of what a polling place is.

We must designate a polling place for each polling district, unless the size or other circumstances of the district would not materially affect the convenience of voters. In exceptional circumstances a polling place may be located outside the district.

What is a polling station?

A polling station is where the voting actually takes place and must be located within the polling place designated for the particular polling district.

You can have more than one polling station in a polling place.

When deciding which buildings to use as polling stations, the Council tries to make sure that they are located as conveniently as possible for the majority of electors and that they are accessible to everyone, particularly anyone with a disability.

Thought must be given, for example, to the distance people have to travel to vote and any barriers to them getting there, such as major roads or rivers.

Guidelines

The following considerations will be taken into account when allocating polling districts and polling places.  Comments made during the consultation should keep these in mind.  The first two are required by electoral law and the others are best practice:

  • We must seek to ensure that all electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances.
  • We must seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable every polling place is accessible to electors who are disabled.
  • Ideally, the polling place should be in its own polling district.
  • No polling place should be shared by 2 wards.
  • Where possible, “natural” boundaries should be used, e.g. railways, major roads, etc.
  • All properties in a minor road or estate should, ideally, be in the same polling district.

The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013

Representation of the People Act 1983 Schedule A1

Review of Parliamentary Polling Districts and Polling Places

The Council is undertaking a review of its polling districts and polling places. The Council is undertaking the review to comply with current legislation, which requires a review to be completed at least once every 5 years.

The consultation period for the review will commence on 2 October 2023 and will end on 31 October 2023.

During that period, the Council would welcome your views on the Council’s existing polling districts and polling places. Maps showing the existing and proposed polling districts and polling places are available on this page.

Your comments as to the suitability of the polling stations to be used at the designated polling places and of their accessibility to electors who are disabled would be most welcome.

The Acting Returning Officers proposals for new polling districts and suitability of polling stations are available on the Council’s website.

Polling stations maps

Existing locations

Proposed locations

Inspection and representations

The postal address and e-mail address at which relevant information and documents can be inspected, and representations made are as follows:

Ashfield District Council
Council Offices
Urban Road
Kirkby in Ashfield
Nottingham
NG17 8DA

Details of all representations received will be made available for inspection. The Council will consider the review proposals at its meeting to be held on 27 November 2023, and will publish the outcome of the review thereafter. The proposals will be incorporated into the new register of electors to be published on 1 December 2023.

Any further information may be obtained by contacting Electoral Services on:

  • telephone: 01623 457 321

Ruth Dennis

Acting Returning Officer

2 October 2023

Ways to contact us about polling reviews

If you have a question about our polling district or places reviews, or our interim reviews you can contact us by: 

Related links:

Related documents: