Plans for Chelmsley Wood seat would tie together areas with "weak" links

REDRAWN: The Chelmsley Wood and Solihull North
seat was unveiled last year.

A COUNCILLOR has said that he cannot support plans for the new constituency of Chelmsley Wood and Solihull North, because he believes it will bind together communities with no historic ties.
Coun Chris Williams (Green, Chelmsley Wood) said that although he liked the name of the new seat - which would enhance the profile of his own ward - the plans to withdraw parliamentary boundaries didn't seem logical.
The electoral map is being heavily altered as part of efforts by the Government to give each constituency a similar number of voters.
But there has been criticism about the changes being proposed for areas such as the West Midlands, where for the first time some MPs will represent areas which may include districts from more than one council.
In Solihull, there is a view that the current constituencies could be kept largely unchanged, but are being bent out of shape as a knock-on effect of the alterations in neighbouring Birmingham.
Under the proposals, the north of the borough would form part of a new brand-new seat, grouped together with Sheldon and some parts of South Solihull.
Addressing a Boundary Commission event in Birmingham, Coun Williams argued this was far from ideal.
He said: "The Solihull wards north of the A45 have a weak community connection with Sheldon, Lyndon and Elmdon as well as a poor physical connection as the airport’s runway splits the proposed constituency very much in two."
Coun Bob Sleigh, the leader of Solihull Council, was similarly concerned about what was being put forward.
"I believe that these proposals will undermine the sense of community... and lead to less effective representation for the people of Solihull."
Interestingly only one resident from the north of the borough appears to have made a submission to the Boundary Commission and was broadly sympathetic to the changes.
By comparison there was a scattering of criticism from those living in those other areas which would form part of the Chelmsley Wood and Solihull North seat.
Steve Rogers, from Sheldon, said: "I do not want to be classed as part of Chelmsley Wood. This is a Birmingham address not part of Solihull and should be left this way."
And Andrew Redfern, of Hampton-in-Arden, said he was concerned that the village's needs would be overlooked if it was linked with an overwhelmingly urban seat.
The Boundary Commission is currently digesting the comments it has received around the country and it remains to be seen if the plans locally will be subject to any changes.