MONMOUTHSHIRE council would gain three extra councillors, but the number of wards would fall by one in the final recommendations for the county’s ward boundaries.

The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales has submitted its final recommendations to the Welsh Government for Monmouthshire council’s new ward boundaries after a period of consultation.

Under the proposals there would be 46 councillors in Monmouthshire, which is an increase by three.

The number of electoral wards would be reduced from 40 to 39.

32 of the recommended wards would be represented by a single councillor with the remaining seven represented by two councillors.

On average, each ward will have 1,599 elected members, with no wards having more than 25 per cent either way.

Currently the largest under-represented ward is Larkfield and St Kingsmark, which is 31 per cent above the recommended county average, while Govilon is 30 per cent below the recommended average.

How many wards will remain the same?

No changes will be made to 31 electoral wards in the county borough.

However, this does take into account the community ward changes that will be coming into place next year.

They have already been accepted by the Welsh Government and have been taken as a guaranteed change under these proposals.

This means, for example, that while Thornwell is currently its own ward on a county level, under the accepted proposals for the community wards, it will become Bulwalk and Thornwell. So, under the commission’s recommendations, it has counted as an ‘unchanged’ ward due to the community ward changes.

The 31 wards which will either remain the same or adopt the accepted community ward boundaries or names are:

  • Bulwark and Thornwell
  • Caerwent
  • Caldicot Castle
  • Caldicot Cross
  • Cantref
  • Croesonen
  • Crucorney
  • Devauden
  • Dewstow
  • Gobion Fawr
  • Goetre Fawr
  • Grofield
  • Lansdown
  • Llanelly
  • Llangybi Fawr
  • Llantilio Crossenny
  • Magor East
  • Magor West 
  • Mardy
  • Osbaston
  • Overmonnow 
  • Park
  • Pen Y Fal
  • Portskewett
  • Raglan
  • Rogiet
  • Severn
  • Shirenewton 
  • St Arvans
  • West End
  • Wyesham

What are the proposed changes?

Under the commissions proposals, Govilon would merge with the community of Llanfoist Fawwr to create a two-member ward by the name of Llanfoist Fawr and Govilon.

Llanbadoc ward could also merge with Usk to create another two-member ward – Llanbadoc and Usk.

Similarly, Mitchel Troy could be merged with Trellech United to become a two-member ward.

Drybridge and the town wards of Monmouth would be split up. Drybridge would form its own single-member ward, while the town wards would form another single-member ward by the name of Town.

Larkfield and St Kingsmark is currently made up of the Larkfield, Mountpleasant and St Kingsmark wards in the town of Chepstow, but it could be split up.

Larkfield would then be merged with Chepstow Castle to form a new two-member ward, while St Kingsmark and Mount Pleasant would each form single-member wards.

What would the ward membership look like?

Under the proposals there would be 32 single-member wards. 

They are:

  • Caerwent
  • Caldicot Castle 
  • Caldicot Cross 
  • Cantref 
  • Croesonen 
  • Crucorney 
  • Devauden 
  • Dewstow 
  • Drybridge 
  • Gobion Fawr 
  • Goetre Fawr 
  • Grofield 
  • Lansdown 
  • Llangybi Fawr 
  • Llantilio Crossenny 
  • Magor West 
  • Mardy
  • Mount Pleasant
  • Osbaston
  • Overmonnow
  • Park
  • Pen Y Fal
  • Portskewett
  • Raglan
  • Rogiet
  • Severn
  • Shirenewton
  • St Arvans
  • St Kingsmark
  • Town
  • West End
  • Wyesham

The remaining seven would be two-member wards.

They are: 

  • Bulwark and Thornwell
  • Chepstow Castle and Larkfield 
  • Llanbadoc and Usk 
  • Llanelly 
  • Llanfoist Fawr and Govilon 
  • Magor East with Undy 
  • Mitchel Troy and Trellech United 

Why is the boundary review taking place?

All 22 Welsh councils have benefitted from a boundary review ahead of the 2022 local government elections.

A review must take place once every ten years to make sure that wards are represented democratically.

Changes to legislation, including allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in Senedd elections will have an impact on the electoral make-up of local wards.

Planning developments will also have an impact.

What has the boundary commission said about the final recommendations?

The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales’ chief executive, Shereen Williams, said: “We’re delighted to be publishing these proposals today.

“We want to thank everyone who took part in the review process, especially Monmouthshire County Council and its councillors, and those members of the public who took part in our consultation.”

What happens now?

Monmouthshire is the last council area to be reviewed so the commission’s role is done.

The Welsh Government will now examine the proposals and may decide to put them into effect with an order.

If this happens, then these will become the future electoral arrangements for Monmouthshire council from the 2022 local elections onwards.

Anyone wishing to make further comments on the review process should contact the minister for housing and local government as soon as possible.