CHANGES to the political boundaries in Solihull have received a mixed welcome by borough MPs.
Under the latest proposals by the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) Silhillians would be represented by three MPs in Parliament instead of two, Julian Knight for Solihull and Saqib Bhatti for Meriden.
The latest plans see Castle Bromwich and Smith’s Wood move to Birmingham Hodge constituency.
And Elmdon and Silhill wards move from Solihull to Meriden.
The plans also suggest Monkspath, Dickens Heath, Tidbury Green and Cheswick Green would move to Solihull from Meriden.
Mr Bhatti said: “The latest proposal published by the boundary commission sadly stipulates that the wards of Castle Bromwich, Blythe and Smith’s Wood will no longer be in my constituency, and I am very disappointed to be losing these wards.
“However, it is important that residents know they will remain part of the Solihull Council. The current proposals also see Elmdon and Silhill join my constituency.”
Over the years Mr Knight has championed to add Shirley to the name of his constituency and he has vowed to try again.
He said: “The revised proposals from the Boundary Commission have my support and are the same as the original proposals.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed representing the people of the Silhill and Elmdon wards since 2015 and whilst I am disappointed that these two wards will be moving into the Meriden constituency, I must accept that there is a wider picture in play here.
“The new Solihull constituency will also include the communities of Monkspath, Dickens Heath, Tidbury Green and Cheswick Green. I believe this makes sense given the strong connections to Shirley.
“However, I will be writing to the Commission again stating that I would like the new constituency to be renamed to Solihull West and Shirley to better reflect the community the new constituency will represent.
“I believe that given Shirley will effectively make up over half of the new constituency, it should be recognised in the name of the new constituency.”
Residents are being asked to take part in a third and final month-long consultation which will form part of the Commission’s final recommendation.
The Commission says it has taken into consideration over 45,000 comments sent in by the public during the previous two stages of public consultation, and has changed nearly half of its initial proposals based on this feedback.
For more, or to see the changes and comment click here.
The deadline for comments is December 5.
