Review of polling district - Bestwood St Albans

Bestwood St Albans Ward only

The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 required local authorities to complete a review of their polling districts and polling places by 31 January 2015 and requires them to do a subsequent review at least once every five years. The most recent scheduled review of the borough of Gedling commenced on 1 December 2023 and concluded in February 2024.

The council are now commencing a localised review for the Bestwood St Albans ward only – this is due to the upcoming separation of the current Parish of St Albans following the recent Community Governance Review. The Notice of Review for this can be seen here:

Polling Review 2025-26 - Notice of Review

What is the review for?

The main aim of the review is to look at the current polling districts in the ward to ensure all parishes are their own separate polling district and have adequate arrangements.

We also need to ensure that all electors have reasonable access to a polling station and that the buildings we use have facilities to cater for people that have different types of disability.

Any elector in the ward may make a representation in relation to the size and boundaries of polling districts and the location and suitability of polling places. The council also welcomes comments or representations from any Councillors in the area, past or potential candidates, local political parties and indeed any person or body with expertise in access for persons with any type of disability.

Definitions

  • A Polling District is a geographical area created by the sub-division of a constituency, ward, or division into smaller parts.
  • A Polling Place is the building or area in which polling stations will be, selected by the Returning Officer.
  • A Polling Station is the room or area within the polling place where voting takes place. There may be more than one Polling Station in a Polling Place, and this is decided by the Returning Officer for the election.

While polling district boundaries and polling places can be changed by the Council, Ward, County and Parish electoral boundaries can only be changed by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Parliamentary electoral boundaries can only be changed by the Boundary Commission for England.

Guidelines

The following considerations were considered when reviewing polling districts and polling places and comments made during the consultation should keep these in mind. The first two are required by electoral law and the others are best practice:

  • The council must seek to ensure that all electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances
  • The Council must seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable every polling place is accessible to electors who are disabled
  • Ideally, the polling place should be in its own polling district
  • No polling place should be shared by two wards.
  • Where possible, “natural” boundaries should be used, e.g., railways, major roads, etc.
  • All properties in a minor road or estate should, ideally, be in the same polling district.

Proposals

A list of the Acting Returning Officers recommendations and comments for the borough ward of St Albans, which comes under the Gedling constituency, can be found here:

ARO Proposals 2025-26 - Bestwood St Albans

All current polling districts and places can be found on our interactive mapping tool here:

Maps of the proposed polling districts are below

GA1 – Bestwood St Albans 1 (no change)

Boundary Map - GA1 - Bestwood St Albans

GA2 – Bestwood St Albans 2 (no changes)

Boundary Map - GA2 - Bestwood St Albans

GA3 – Bestwood St Albans 3 (changes)

Boundary Map - GA3 - Bestwood St Albans

GA4 – Bestwood St Albans 4 (new polling district)

Boundary Map - GA4 - Bestwood St Albans

The consultation period for the review will commence on Friday 24 October and will end on Friday 19 December 2025. To make representations on the proposals, please send your comment and/or observations to elections@gedling.gov.uk or write to us at:

Electoral Services

Gedling Borough Council

Civic Centre

Arnot Hill Park

Arnold

Nottingham

NG5 6LU

 

Details of proposals will be made available for inspection at our offices (address above) from Friday 24 October 2025

If you have any questions about the review, you can contact us via email at  elections@gedling.gov.uk or via phone on 0115 901 3906.