Vale of Glamorgan council ward boundaries to be reviewed
The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has opened its initial consultation as an electoral review of the Vale of Glamorgan gets underway.
The review will examine the boundaries of council wards across the county borough with a view to ensuring that each council ward has a roughly equal ratio of electors to councillors.
Before making any proposals to change the map of council wards, the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru has opened a consultation seeking the initial views of residents and stakeholders.
The last review of Vale of Glamorgan council wards was completed in 2021, and a community review, looking at the boundaries and electoral arrangements of communities in the Vale, was completed in 2024.
Having completed their previous review of Vale of Glamorgan council wards 4 years ago, the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru will look to bring all wards to within 20% of the council average rate of electors to councillors.
At present, 5 of the existing wards fall outside of that range, with the Cosmeston ward being over 50% below the council average, meaning it has far fewer electors per councillor than most wards.
The Commission may also look to make changes to wards even where they are currently within the 20% target. This may be due to knock-on effects of changing the boundaries of neighbouring wards, or because local residents and stakeholders have identified a need to change boundaries to better match community ties.
The review will also take account of other factors, such as the rurality of wards or the relative deprivation of wards as it develops its proposals.
The Commission is inviting initial comments and suggestions for the review until 16 July 2025, and residents can send their comments by email to consultations@dbcc.gov.wales, in the post to DBCC, 4th Floor, Welsh Government Building, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ, or via the online consultation portal at https://reviewswales.wales/.
Following this consultation, the Commission will reflect on the responses received and develop draft proposals for a new map of council wards, before submitting that map for a second public consultation later in the year.
Commenting on the opening of the consultation, chief executive of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, Shereen Williams MBE OStJ said:
“The Commission looks forward to working with people in the Vale of Glamorgan, and its partners in local government, as it seeks to ensure that people across the Vale are represented equally, that people’s votes carry the same strength, and that councillors are able to share a more equal workload.
“The previous electoral review for the Vale of Glamorgan was the first in several years, meaning that the Commission had to recommend significant changes to wards across the county.
“With reviews now happening more regularly, we’re glad to be in a position where the vast majority of wards are already within the target ratio of electors to councillors.
“There will still be some changes to the map however, so the Commission strongly recommends that those with views on the shape of their ward respond to our consultations to make their voices heard.”