2018 Review - South West England

[mrpastelito]

Somerset, Devon & Cornwall

[Foggy]

Apr 24, 2016 22:15:39 GMT mrpastelito said:

Somerset, Devon & Cornwall

Nice first post! Welcome. 

I presume the name 'Portishead' for the seat also containing Nailsea, Portbury and Clevedon is meant to be taken just as seriously as the names 'Truro & Snozzle', 'Devonwall' and 'Plymouth Banlieue'?

[mrpastelito]

Apr 25, 2016 0:01:44 GMT Foggy said:

Apr 24, 2016 22:15:39 GMT mrpastelito said:

Somerset, Devon & Cornwall

Nice first post! Welcome. 

I presume the name 'Portishead' for the seat also containing Nailsea, Portbury and Clevedon is meant to be taken just as seriously as the names 'Truro & Snozzle', 'Devonwall' and 'Plymouth Banlieue'?

Oh that was just in honour of Beth Gibbons - the BCE will no doubt plump for the current name. Plymouth Banlieue could be South & West Devon, and if it takes Charterlands from Totnes it could cede Tamarside to, ahm, Launceston & West Torridge which makes for nicer boundaries.

[Foggy]

Apr 25, 2016 0:30:00 GMT mrpastelito said:

Apr 25, 2016 0:01:44 GMT Foggy said:

Oh that was just in honour of Beth Gibbons - the BCE will no doubt plump for the current name. 

Now there's a novel idea. If only more bands were named after the places their members actually came from (so that rules out Texas, for example), we could then in turn call our proposed constituencies in their honour.

[mrpastelito]

Another go at Devon and Cornwall - proper names and all:



Unchanged: Devon North, Tiverton & Honiton, Devon East, Exeter, Torbay.

Plymouth:

[mrpastelito]

Now I really don't want to be impatient, but please - any comments? Suggestions, corrections, objections, remarks, criticism?

[islington]

OK, I can offer some feedback -

Your Cornish seats work well and closely resemble the pattern that existed when Cornwall had 5 seats. I think most of us have gone for something very like this, give or take the odd ward here and there, and I expect BCE will too.

I think you're right on the money to have your cross-border seat in the north (rather than near Plymouth as some have suggested). You've made the Devon side of this seat coincide with Torridge, which I agree is the best approach.

But I'm unclear why you've addressed Plymouth in the way that you have. You have a seat with a major rural component that reaches virtually to the city centre (Drake ward sticks out like a saw thumb) and I'd much prefer to see two whole seats in the city, although I agree it's tricky (a) to decide which wards to leave out, and (b) to get the internal boundary right.

(On (a), I went for omitting the Plymstock wards and Southway; and on (b), for an east-west split. But plenty of other options have been suggested.)

Regarding the rest of Devon, I think your 'least change' approach makes sense, and I agree with the approach of allowing the C Devon seat to spread westwards to include the area north of Tavistock.

All in all, a perfectly workable plan except in Plymouth.

[greenhert]

Realistically, with any seat containing any part of Plymouth, it should only contain Plymouth's peripheral suburbs (e.g. Plymstock and Plympton). The core part of Plymouth should be divided into two seats with only Plymouth wards.

[Foggy]

Putting the students in Drake ward (who currently include my sister, but won't by 2020) in an amorphous Devon SW seat seems like a bad idea. Devon 'Central' now stretches all the way to the western border with Cornwall, which would be a no-go. The rest seems like something the Commission would be content with.

[islington]

Pastelito -

Apart from your Plymouth, it's a perfectly serviceable plan (and I don't agree with Foggy about the westward extension of C Devon - after all, this area has to go somewhere).

But you've concentrated exclusively on Devon / Cornwall. Why not try your hand elsewhere?

[mrpastelito]

Thanks for all your comments - I'll try and rejig the Plymouth wards although that may involve putting the two wards north of Tavistock into Devon SW and Broadclyst into Devon Central to reach quota.

My Somerset proposal is on page 7 lumped in with my first D&C map - I'm quite happy with it as it elegantly (imho at least ) solves greatkingrat's orphan ward problem in his otherwise brilliant proposal. Bristol is fairly straightforward with only one ward changing. Further away than that I don't think I know enough about community ties etc. I might give Dorset & Wiltshire a go, though I don't really know much (anything, that is) about North Wiltshire.

[islington]

May 1, 2016 10:43:14 GMT mrpastelito said:

Thanks for all your comments - I'll try and rejig the Plymouth wards although that may involve putting the two wards north of Tavistock into Devon SW and Broadclyst into Devon Central to reach quota.

My Somerset proposal is on page 7 lumped in with my first D&C map - I'm quite happy with it as it elegantly (imho at least ) solves greatkingrat 's orphan ward problem in his otherwise brilliant proposal. Bristol is fairly straightforward with only one ward changing. Further away than that I don't think I know enough about community ties etc. I might give Dorset & Wiltshire a go, though I don't really know much (anything, that is) about North Wiltshire.

I'm not sure that should worry you. I don't know anything about Glasgow, either, but if you pop over to the Scotland thread you'll see that it hasn't stopped me from having a go.

[mrpastelito]

May 1, 2016 10:57:12 GMT islington said:

May 1, 2016 10:43:14 GMT mrpastelito said:

Thanks for all your comments - I'll try and rejig the Plymouth wards although that may involve putting the two wards north of Tavistock into Devon SW and Broadclyst into Devon Central to reach quota.

My Somerset proposal is on page 7 lumped in with my first D&C map - I'm quite happy with it as it elegantly (imho at least ) solves greatkingrat 's orphan ward problem in his otherwise brilliant proposal. Bristol is fairly straightforward with only one ward changing. Further away than that I don't think I know enough about community ties etc. I might give Dorset & Wiltshire a go, though I don't really know much (anything, that is) about North Wiltshire.

I'm not sure that should worry you. I don't know anything about Glasgow, either, but if you pop over to the Scotland thread you'll see that it hasn't stopped me from having a go.

I take your point. I just thought one pitchfork bait thread was enough

Anyway, here's my best effort on Plymouth:



Which makes the rest look like that. Note that changes to my Devon Central (and Devon East) weren't necessary after all:

[Foggy]

Personally I'd accept those borders, but not those names. However, I think the Commission would be happy with all but one of them in the name of minimal change.
The reason I mention Devon Central is that it's the only name I could the Commission rejecting if it stretches to the Cornish border and is therefore no longer central. It can't be called 'Mid Devon' as that's the local authority based around Tiverton that goes to the eastern border. It might have to become 'Crediton & Okehampton' or such like instead.

[mrpastelito]

May 1, 2016 19:44:03 GMT Foggy said:

Personally I'd accept those borders, but not those names. However, I think the Commission would be happy with all but one of them in the name of minimal change.
The reason I mention Devon Central is that it's the only name I could the Commission rejecting if it stretches to the Cornish border and is therefore no longer central. It can't be called 'Mid Devon' as that's the local authority based around Tiverton that goes to the eastern border. It might have to become 'Crediton & Okehampton' or such like instead.

'Okehampton & Crediton' (the other way round) was my first thought actually, and I only went for Devon Central for minimum change reasons... so no objections.

[Foggy]

Cool... though knowing my luck this will be the one area in which it turns out that I have underestimated the Commission's fussiness – or just its consistency.

[swindonlad]

May 1, 2016 10:43:14 GMT mrpastelito said:

Thanks for all your comments - I'll try and rejig the Plymouth wards although that may involve putting the two wards north of Tavistock into Devon SW and Broadclyst into Devon Central to reach quota.

My Somerset proposal is on page 7 lumped in with my first D&C map - I'm quite happy with it as it elegantly (imho at least ) solves greatkingrat's orphan ward problem in his otherwise brilliant proposal. Bristol is fairly straightforward with only one ward changing. Further away than that I don't think I know enough about community ties etc. I might give Dorset & Wiltshire a go, though I don't really know much (anything, that is) about North Wiltshire.

Will be interesting to see what you come up with North Wilts, in my first few efforts knowing the area very well gave me problems as I know what should be linked & never got anything ideal, the market towns ended up having to be split.

[mrpastelito]

May 2, 2016 0:48:34 GMT swindonlad said:

May 1, 2016 10:43:14 GMT mrpastelito said:

Thanks for all your comments - I'll try and rejig the Plymouth wards although that may involve putting the two wards north of Tavistock into Devon SW and Broadclyst into Devon Central to reach quota.

My Somerset proposal is on page 7 lumped in with my first D&C map - I'm quite happy with it as it elegantly (imho at least ) solves greatkingrat 's orphan ward problem in his otherwise brilliant proposal. Bristol is fairly straightforward with only one ward changing. Further away than that I don't think I know enough about community ties etc. I might give Dorset & Wiltshire a go, though I don't really know much (anything, that is) about North Wiltshire.

Will be interesting to see what you come up with North Wilts, in my first few efforts knowing the area very well gave me problems as I know what should be linked & never got anything ideal, the market towns ended up having to be split.

I'm pleading guilty:

[islington]

By no means a bad plan.

It reminds me that I don’t think I ever posted my own thoughts for Wilts/Dorset.

Compared with existing seats:

NORTH WILTSHIRE – Loses the Calne area; gains the Chippenham and Corsham wards (but not Corsham Rural or Box) and could be renamed ‘Chippenham’ if you prefer. 77385

WEST WILTSHIRE – The rest of the current Chippenham seat plus the northern part of SW Wilts including Southwick and the whole of Summerham ward (could be called ‘Trowbridge’). 74439

DEVIZES – Gains Calne and loses Bulford and Durrington (could be ‘E Wilts’). 75543

SALISBURY – Gains those wards from Devizes and otherwise unchanged except for realignments with new ward boundaries. 77247

SHAFTESBURY AND WESTBURY – The rest of SW Wilts and, from the N Dorset seat, everything in N Dorset district except Blandford Forum and the three wards surrounding it (Hill Forts, Riversdale and Lwr Tarrants). 74942

WEST DORSET – Unchanged apart from realignment with new wards. 73511

SOUTH DORSET – Gains Wareham, St Martins and Bere Regis. 77608

EAST DORSET – The successor to Mid Dorset & Poole N but it is extensively changed and I think this name reflects it better. Apart from ward realignments and the losses to S Dorset above, it loses the Canford Heath wards; and it gains the remainder of N Dorset constituency except the Verwood wards. Yes, it’s a complete mash-up and it covers parts of four LAs, but there it is. 78175

POOLE – Aligned for new wards; gains the Canford Heath wards and loses Branksome W. 73678

BOURNEMOUTH WEST – Aligned for new wards in Poole and gains Branksome West. It could have ‘and Branksome’ added to its name but I prefer to leave it as is for brevity. 77012

BOURNEMOUTH EAST – Unchanged. 71748

CHRISTCHURCH – Gains the Verwood wards (and realigned for new wards in E Dorset). 71196

[East Anglian Lefty]

Continuing with what now looks like a series of alternate maps for areas I've already drawn, here's Devonwall:





I've elected to draw a Plymouth Saltash seat, but rather than the ugly doughnuts several people have suggested, this one is relatively cohesive in northern Plymouth. I would actually have been able to have the A38 as the boundary throughout Plymouth, but I decided Efford & Lipson looks too ugly in SW Devon and that Woolwell ought to go with Moor View. Totnes' arm to grab Ivybridge is unfortunate but forced by the numbers.

In the rest of Devon I'm quite pleased with how little change I needed to do. One thing I would point out that might win me a small number of brownie points is that I was able to put Exe Valley into East Devon, so Central Devon now only stretches over three rather than four districts.

Within Cornwall, I don't think there's much merit in returning to the pre-1983 boundaries for the sake of it and I think it produces ugly lines round St. Austell, so in my version Newquay goes with Truro, St. Austell with Liskeard and Bodmin stays in North Cornwall.

Overall I still prefer crossing in the north, but with less fervour than I did initially.

St Ives 73971
Falmouth & Camborne 72184
Truro & Newquay 73775
St. Austell & Liskeard 72061
North Cornwall 76918
Plymouth Saltash 72634
Plymouth Central 78081
South West Devon 72095
Totnes 71184
Torbay 71459
Newton Abbot 72855
Central Devon 71171
Torridge & West Devon 77195
North Devon 73240
Tiverton & Honiton 72286
East Devon 74126
Exeter 71404