The Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England has today published their revised proposals for the Lichfield constituency and have decided Streethay to remain in Lichfield. Michael Fabricant says “I am relieved and happy that the Parliamentary Boundary Commission has seen sense, after studying the evidence, and listening to the over 500 residents of Streethay who argued for Streethay to remain in the Lichfield Parliamentary Constituency.  I am also very grateful to the people of Streethay who took the time to write in their hundreds to the Boundary Commissioners.

“My only regret is that I shall lose Whittington in this change to the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency, but we shall gain Wall and adjoining hamlets.  This has become necessary as more people have moved into the Lichfield constituency and we have become too populous.

“However, none of these changes will take place until approved by Parliament in 2023 and until after the next General Election which is likely to be held in 2024.

“But it’s not all over yet.  The Parliamentary Boundary Commissioners will now consult on their revised proposals up until Monday 5^th December and I urge everyone to contact the Commission, as I shall, to say that I agree with their revised proposal.”

Constituents should write to the Parliamentary Boundary Commission by 5^th December by logging onto  https://www.bcereviews.org.uk/

In coming to their revised conclusions, the Boundary Commissioners say:-

“We received more representations concerning the Lichfield ward of Whittington and Streethay than any other single ward in the region. Over 500 individual  responses raised unanimous objection to Streethay’s proposed inclusion in  the Tamworth constituency. Some of these representations were also sent  in conjunction with support for the Conservative Party counter-proposal for Lichfield.

“Residents in both Lichfield and Streethay submitted thorough  arguments advocating for Streethay’s inclusion in the Lichfield constituency.  Respondents referenced the physical proximity of Streethay to Lichfield, the  reliance on the city for services and amenities, and the clear geographical  separation from Tamworth. Many representations explained how Streethay is no longer separated from the City, and is now considered an ‘integral part of Lichfield’.

“The Assistant Commissioners visited Streethay in order to observe the feasibility  and suitability of a split of the Whittington and Streethay ward. The Assistant  Commissioners observed that, while Streethay could be considered as its own separate community, it also appeared to have a heavy reliance on Lichfield for local amenities.

“Further to this, the A38 to the east of Streethay acts as a physical divide between Streethay and the rest of the ward, and reinforces the separation between Streethay and its nearest population centre to the east. The Assistant Commissioners also noted that we received many representations in the secondary consultation objecting to the Labour Party counter-proposal for Staffordshire, which would not only included Streethay in the Tamworth constituency, but also include Lichfield in a cross-county boundary constituency  with Aldridge.

“As a result of the evidence gathered both during consultations and the site visit, the Assistant Commissioners agreed that excluding Streethay from the Lichfield constituency would be undesirable.

“They therefore considered several alternative patterns of constituencies, including options that split wards, such as the Conservative Party counter-proposal, and options that did not split any  wards. They considered transferring the Hammerwich with Wall ward from the  proposed Lichfield constituency to Tamworth, thereby allowing Whittington and Streethay to transfer to Lichfield; however, they judged that this arrangement  would break close community ties within the town of Burntwood, and would be an inappropriate recommendation for these revised proposals.

“After reviewing several different approaches and possibilities, the Assistant Commissioners therefore concluded that the counter-proposal, which proposed splitting the Whittington and Streethay ward, was the best option for the Lichfield and Tamworth constituencies. They judged that this approach satisfied the statutory factors far better than the initial  proposals and recommended that we adopt it for these revised proposals.”

The map shows the proposed revised boundary of the new Lichfield Parliamentary constituency with Streethay (marked ‘19’) along with all of the Hammerwich with Wall ward (marked ‘11’) included.