Here’s some solid information on the boundary issue. In short, we believe it makes sense for Ickenham’s ward boundary to match the village boundary and we’d like people who agree with this to make their views known.

All Association members on our mail list were given a detailed view yesterday. Here are some key extracts (plus two extra links):

We will try to expand the Ickenham Ward to reflect our true boundaries. This would match the boundaries as agreed by LBH for the Ickenham Neighbourhood Plan, including The Greenway, Ickenham Green, The Brackenbury estate and the Ickenham Marshes, which are all currently in other wards.

Chris Mountain provided a link to a brilliant interactive map of the village – it shows electoral and natural boundaries and green spaces.

We are asking all Ickenham residents to please send in their own comments, as numbers matter here, and just one letter from the Residents’ Association will not be sufficient to sway the review.

How to get involved (Local Government Boundary Commission for England)
This is a public consultation and we welcome views from individuals and organisations across Hillingdon on where they think new ward boundaries should be drawn.

In drawing up new electoral wards, we must balance three legal criteria, namely:
– to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the borough;
– that the pattern of wards should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
– that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

We will treat all submissions equally, and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.

If you wish to put forward a view, we would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral ward, make sure you tell us why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

There is more advice on our website about how you can get involved in the consultation.

Our website features technical guidance that explains the process and our policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.

We have also set up a webpage dedicated to the review of Hillingdon, where you can find all the relevant information.

You can also access interactive maps of the current ward boundaries across Hillingdon on our specialist consultation portal. The portal also allows you to draw your own boundaries, mark areas of interest on the map and upload documents directly to the site.

You can make a submission to the Hillingdon electoral review:
1. through our consultation area,
2. by e-mailing reviews@lgbce.org.uk, or
3. writing to the following address:
The Review Officer (Hillingdon), Local Government Boundary Commission for England, 1st Floor, Windsor House, 50 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL

PLEASE PLEASE DO MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN and feel free to share this post to anyone who is a resident of Ickenham.

Thank you in advance.