Review of polling stations across Telford and Wrekin set to start this month

A review of all the places that voters go to cast their election ballots is set to be carried out across Telford & Wrekin.

Telford & Wrekin Council has already sorted out the boundaries of a new patchwork of town and parish councils across the borough.

Next on the agenda is a review all the polling districts and stations where people who have not signed up for a postal vote will need to go to cast their crosses on ballot papers.

The next-all out election across the borough is set to take place in May, 2027 and the plan is to have the new arrangements sorted out before then.

There are currently 102 polling districts in the borough as a whole, with 56 in the Telford parliamentary constituency and 46 in The Wrekin.

The council’s boundary review committee is set to meet next Wednesday, February 11, to start the process of an interim review. The last five yearly statutory review was held in November, 2023

A public consultation to ask members of the public for their views is set to be held from February 23 to April 6 before the full council is asked to adopt changes.

Council officers are set to tell councillors that they try to avoid the use of
schools or temporary buildings as polling stations wherever possible.

But they add: “Regrettably, given the need to provide a polling station in every polling district, there are some occasions when the use of schools or Portakabins is unavoidable due to a lack of suitable buildings in those areas.

“This interim review provides us with a further opportunity to address those
instances where we haven’t been able to avoid their use.

“It should be noted, however, that during some elections the planned polling stations have not been available for use and, therefore, it has been necessary to revert to either a school building or the use of a Portakabin on a temporary basis.”

Officials say that the cost of the review will be delivered from existing budgets.