Review of polling districts and polling places

The council is reviewing its current polling districts and polling places to make sure polling arrangements are still suitable and up to date.

The review will look at polling places and how electoral wards are divided into smaller polling districts:

• a polling district is a smaller area within an electoral ward, it includes a group of streets or homes
• a polling place is the building or area where polling stations are located
• a polling station is the actual room or building where people vote

This review is not related to the process of local government reorganisation.

We encourage anyone with comments or suggestions about polling districts or polling venues to take part in this review.

The council must make sure:

• all electors have reasonable voting facilities, where this is practical
• polling places are accessible to all electors, including disabled electors, as far as is reasonable and practical

When choosing polling districts and polling places, the council must consider practical issues, such as whether suitable venues are available. This review will not consider changes to constituency or ward boundaries.

The review is scheduled as follows:

• 13 July – start of the consultation period
• 24 July – publication of the Returning Officer’s representations
• 24 August at 5pm – close of the consultation period
• 16 September – report to Governance and Audit and Standards Committee
• 13 October – report to Full Council

The council must consult the Returning Officer as part of the review. The Returning Officer will look at the current polling arrangements and make proposals. These proposals will be published on this page by Friday 24 July.

The council welcomes comments from electors in the area, and from anyone else with an interest in the review. You can comment on the current polling arrangements or on the Returning Officer’s proposals.

Please send your comments by 5.00pm on Monday 24 August to:

• Election Services, Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2QR
• or by email to elections@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

If you are suggesting a change, please explain what you would like to change and why it would improve the current arrangements.

The council must make all submissions, relevant correspondence and decisions about the review available for public inspection. These will also be published on this website. For more information about how we use personal information, please see our privacy notice.

After the consultation period, the council will draft final proposals for polling districts and polling places. These will take account of all comments and representations received. A report will then go to the Governance and Audit and Standards Committee. The committee will make recommendations to Full Council for approval.

Any approved changes to polling arrangements will be in place when the 2027 Register of Electors is published.

• Current polling arrangements
• Returning Officer’s representations
• Notice of review