The Local Government Boundary Commission is the independent body that draws these boundaries. It has reviewed Hammersmith & Fulham to make sure councillors will represent about the same number of electors, and that ward arrangements will help the council work effectively.
The Commission has published final recommendations for changes in Hammersmith & Fulham. It says residents should be represented by 50 councillors. This is four more than the current arrangement.
There will be 21 wards, an increase of five. These are divided into eight three-councillor wards and 13 two-councillor wards. The boundaries of all but one ward will change.
Publishing the recommendations Professor Colin Mellors, Chair of the Commission, said:
“We are very grateful to people in Hammersmith & Fulham. We looked at all the views they gave us. They helped us improve our earlier proposals.
“We believe the new arrangements will guarantee electoral fairness while maintaining local ties.”
226 people and organisations made comments to help decide the new wards.
In response to local feedback during public consultation, the Commission has made changes to some of the proposals it published in December 2019.
In the south-west of the borough, Fulham Palace Road will not be used as a boundary for Fulham Reach ward, meaning that this ward will now extend east. This also means that Bishops Park Estate will now be contained entirely within Palace & Hurlingham ward, after submissions we received demonstrated strong community links in this area.
Wood Lane Estate will be included in College Park & Old Oak ward after the Commission was persuaded by strong evidence arguing that the estate had strong community ties to College Park & Old Oak ward that would be broken by its removal from this ward.
The Commission has made further changes to its earlier proposals. Details can be found on its website at https://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/greater-london/greater-london/hammersmith-and-fulham
Parliament now needs to agree the changes. The new arrangements will then apply for the 2022 council elections.
