A new urban Chelmsford Borough seat could be created under radical changes being proposed to parliamentary constituency boundaries in Essex.
The revision would mean some of the rural wards now in West Chelmsford, including Broomfield, Boreham and Writtle, going to the constituency of Saffron Walden.
Remaining villages would be distributed among other constituencies.
Chelmsford is at present represented by three MPs but, under the proposals, out would go the seats of West Chelmsford, Maldon and East Chelmsford, and Rayleigh, all of which include parts of the borough.
They would be replaced partly by an urban Chelmsford Borough seat which would be made up of 13 of the town area local authority wards, including Great Baddow.
The configuration of the new constituencies, drawn up by the Boundary Commission this week, is causing surprise and dismay in some areas, particularly mid-Essex.
A new Maldon constituency would contain 13 Maldon district wards, and seven wards of Chelmsford borough, including some now in Maldon and East Chelmsford. It would also take in Margaretting and Stock, and southern borough wards, including South Woodham Ferrers, currently in Rayleigh constituency, which mutates into a Rayleigh and Wickford seat.
A new Witham constituency would include nine wards of Braintree district, four wards from Maldon district and five of Colchester borough.
While gaining wards from rural Chelmsford, Saffron Walden would lose northern Braintree rural wards to the new Braintree constituency.
There has been immediate concern over proposals to relocate the rural Chelmsford wards to Saffron Walden -- a town at least 20 miles distant, and to the plans affecting Braintree and Maldon, which critics claim would split communities in half.
The proposals for Essex include the unitary authority areas of Thurrock and Southend. They have been produced by the Boundary Commission for England in a bid to even out the numbers of electors in constituencies.
It is emphasised that they are only provisional at this time and there are stages to go through, possibly including a public inquiry, before final decisions are taken.
The next general election is expected to be fought on current constituency boundaries.
Published Thursday, May 1, 2003
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