Barking and Dagenham MP constituency boundary plans revealed

It has unveiled proposals to reshape seats across east London as well as the whole country.

In a report published today (November 8), the commission has decided to keep its initial plans for the borough largely unchanged.

They would see Valence ward transferred from the Barking constituency to Dagenham and Rainham.

Its plan to transfer Chadwell Heath ward from Dagenham and Rainham to Ilford South has been retained, despite receiving opposition.

A petition signed by 156 residents against this move was submitted to the commission, it said.

Opponents contended the plan would break ties between Chadwell Heath and Whalebone wards.

But the proposed change also received support from the likes of Chadwell Heath South Residents' Association, which argued the move "is a positive step towards unifying the entire Chadwell Heath area".

Other aspects of the commission's latest proposals see the existing Hacton and St Andrew's wards in Havering divided between Hornchurch and Upminster and the Dagenham and Rainham constituencies.

A final consultation has now opened for people to submit their views and will run until December 5.

The commission will then analyse the responses and form its final recommendations, which will be submitted to Parliament by July 2023.

Tim Bowden, secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said: “Last year we published our initial proposals for new constituency boundaries – our first go at what the map should look like.

"We are delighted with the huge number of comments from members of the public on our initial proposals, many which included valuable evidence about local communities. 

"We now believe we are close to the best map of constituencies that can be achieved under the rules we are working to.  

"However, we still want people to tell us what they think of this latest map before we submit our final recommendations to Parliament next year."

To view and comment on the latest plans, visit bcereviews.org.uk.