SUBMISSIONS to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England will be sent by Wiltshire Council, among criticism from councillors who say future population figures have been overestimated.

New boundary lines will be drawn up shaping where councillors represent within Wiltshire.

98 councillors will represent 98 different areas that must all represent the same number of voters, based on predicted growth of the county by 2024.

Each area must have a predicted 4247 voters in the region by 2024. While the Commission believes the Wiltshire population will rise by 49,500 people in the next six years, the Office of National Statistics expects rises to be less than 16,000.

Cllr Christopher Newbury believes the Boundary’s prediction of population increase is too high. He said: “I’m going to support the motion, I think it is the best we can do. But fundamentallyThe arithmetic has gone wrong. The projected figures we are made to work from the electoral boundary commission presume a population increase in six years of 13.5 per cent. It’s not based on rational data. For the last 15 years, population increase is roughly 0.6 per cent a year. If you check the Office of National Statistics they say the population in Wiltshire will increase by 4.3 per cent between 2018 and 2024. The present situation says very much the same but the Electoral commission is insisting it will be 13.5 per cent.It is entirely possibly we are going to be back here in a few years time because the electoral commission, with its double and triple counting, has got us to a point of making presumptions that take us in the wrong way.”

Resident Francis Westmorland said: “Wiltshire Council is working from grossly exaggerated population growth estimates. None of the figures for 2018 are shown, the focus is totally on the 2024 forecast figures so if these figures are wrong this whole exercise is going in the wrong directionCllr Richard Clewer said: “I understand your concerns. We’ve raised some issues and there have been areas where the numbers are questionable but these are figures given by special planning and they are the numbers we have to use. This includes general uplift provided by the boundary commission and we have applied that across the whole county. I understand you point but we have to work in the bounds of the information we get.” The draft proposal to the LGBCE was accepted by the council during an extraordinary full council meeting in Trowbridge on Monday. (March 25)

Leader of the opposition Cllr Ian Thorn added: “We are happy to support the proposals this morning. We leave this council with a much deeper knowledge of the county. I appreciate there are members who have real and legitimate concerns but these debates are always about a balance of judgement.”