The size, shape and make-up of Parliamentary constituencies have changed over the years, with regular reviews carried out by the Boundary Commission of England (BCE).
The initial details of the 2023 boundary review have just been released, with the most noticeable boundary change being proposed for the Brentwood and Ongar constituency is the move of the two wards of Moreton and Fyfield, and High Ongar, Willingale and The Rodings, to the Saffron Walden constituency.
It would be a great disappointment to me to lose these lovely parts of the constituency, and I will be sharing my disappointment with the powers that be as the long process of consultation and amendment begins (final decisions will not be made until 2023 and previous exercises have shown major changes between iterations).
Should those two wards move to the Saffron Walden constituency, the Boundary Commission has suggested it considers the change would make the existing constituency name of Brentwood and Ongar less appropriate, and have proposed simply be called Brentwood.
I will fight this every step of the way. I have no doubt readers of the Ongar News will agree that it would be ridiculous to change the constituency name whilst Ongar sits firmly within the boundary. I will make my views known to the Boundary Commission, and hope you will too when the formal consultation into the 2023 proposals begin.
In other news, I am continuing my inquiries into broadband connectivity in Ongar and into what can be done about huge lorries making our High Street tremble. As with all things involving infrastructure, these inquiries take time but as soon as I have news I will report back.
