Against widespread protest from Oker and Snitterton residents and South Darley Parish Council, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England recommended, without any consultation opportunity, that in terms of the Derbyshire Dales District wards, the rural hamlets of Oker and Snitterton would be placed in a new urban ward of Matlock West (formerly Matlock All Saints district ward). The villages of Darley Bridge and Wensley have been appropriately placed in the rural district ward of Bonsall and Winster.
DDDC objected and consequently formally requested on 30th September 2022 that the Boundary Commission for England revise this ward boundary decision for Oker and Snitterton. Despite repeated prompting by DDDC, the Boundary Commission has now sent their much delayed response which states, rather baldly: “it will not be possible to provide a related alteration to the district ward boundary in time for the May 2023 elections. However, we would be happy to consider a related alteration request for the subsequent May 2027 district election. We will wait to hear back from you on this. ” So, there’s a future glimmer of hope, and the parish and district councils will be sure to follow up on this in due course.
For background information, see: https://southdarleyparishcouncil.gov.uk/boundary-changes/ .