Meeting with EA, Boundary Commission and Sikh Temple Friday 4th November

On Friday 4 November, I arranged a meeting with the Environment Agency (EA), and the Beacon Action Group representatives to discuss issues relating to Great Barr Hall and Park. It appears that the EA have not made any comments on the application as this has been split from the development.

I attended and gave oral evidence to the Boundary Commission. The Government has legislated that the 2018 Review must reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600. The Boundary Commission for England, an independent and impartial body, has produced a review of the new boundaries to ensure that each constituency has roughly the same number of electors.

For Walsall, the Boundary Commission have proposed two new constituencies, Walsall Central and Aldridge, Brownhills and Bloxwich. All the wards for Walsall South are moved into Walsall Central together with the wards of Birchills Leamore, and Blakenall, from the existing Walsall North constituency. Walsall South’s Pheasey Park Farm moves into Birmingham Erdington. Walsall North’s other wards will be merged into the constituencies: Wednesfield and Willenhall, and Aldridge, Brownhills and Bloxwich.

 
The consultation on the report will run for 12 weeks between September and December 2016 and the final report will be submitted to Parliament, to be agreed by both houses, by September 2018. If Parliament agrees the changes to boundaries, the new constituencies will take effect at the next scheduled General Election in 2020.

I also had a meeting at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara on Wellington Street and spoke with the trustees about the various issues that are affecting the Sikh community locally.