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Last modified: 01 Nov 2021 6:02pm

An aerial view of the district

The Council could take on a new look with  proposed changes to the number of councillors and wards being agreed.

The Council will publicly notify its proposal this month on a new representation structure that would see the number of councillors reduce from 11 to 10 and changes to the four ward boundaries.

The proposal is part of the Council’s representation review, which will result in changes to the way the Council is elected and structured from the next local elections in 2022.

The key changes in the proposal for consultation include:

  • The Selwyn Central ward would be replaced by a smaller Rolleston ward, which would have three councillors rather than the current four, with all the other wards retaining their current number of councillors
  • West Melton would move from the current Selwyn Central ward to the Malvern Ward
  • The area between Burnham and Rolleston would move from the current Selwyn Central Ward to the Ellesmere Ward
  • The Malvern Community Board would be retained with five members, elected from the existing subdivisions of Hawkins (2) and Tawera (1), and a new subdivision covering West Melton (2).

All councils must review their representation arrangements at least every six years. Selwyn last undertook a representation review in 2015, in preparation for the 2016 elections.

Since that time, Selwyn’s population has grown rapidly but unevenly across the district meaning changes were required to the existing ward boundaries to ensure an even spread of representation for the population.

Once the Council has notified its final proposal, it is subject to appeal. The local government commission will consider any appeals and will make a final determination, if required by April 2022.