The Parliamentary Boundary Commission wants to take Poynton out of the Macclesfield Constituency and move the village into a new seat, including parts of Stockport and Greater Manchester. The Commission last month published draft proposals for new constituencies. If approved, these will be used at the next General Election. All proposed constituencies must have roughly equal numbers of voters (between 71,031 and 78,507 electors).

The Commission argues that Poynton should no longer be part of the Macclesfield seat, but instead be in a new constituency called Bramhall and Poynton. This also includes Adlington, Disley, Hazel Grove, Stepping Hill, Offerton, Handforth, Dean Row and Woodford.

Poynton Conservatives believe strongly that Poynton should remain part of the Macclesfield Constituency and not form part of this new seat with Bramhall and other areas of Stockport. Our reasons include:

  1. Poynton is surrounded by Green Belt, and is not part of the Greater Manchester conurbation. Poynton and Norbury Brooks form a clear physical boundary dividing Poynton from Hazel Grove and Bramhall. There are no “strong geographic links” between the two areas.
  2. There is a bus service between Poynton and Hazel Grove village but no rail service, and no buses to Bramhall. There is no public transport at all to other areas in the proposed constituency, including Dean Row, Handforth, Woodford or Offerton. The road north from Poynton to Hazel Grove is badly congested. Road links are better south on the A523 road to Macclesfield.
  3. Poynton and Bramhall, Hazel Grove and Offerton have been in separate counties for over 40 years. They have different police forces, health authorities and education systems. (Poynton has an 11-18 High School whilst in Stockport most students attend Sixth Form colleges).
  4. We believe it would be more difficult for an MP to represent a constituency where over 60% of the electorate came under Stockport and the rest under Cheshire East.
  5. For almost seventy years, Poynton and Hazel Grove and Bramhall have been in separate constituencies. There is no pressure from the community for any change.
  6. Attempts in 1974 to include Poynton in Greater Manchester were strongly opposed by local people and eventually defeated. While it is recognised that the current proposals relate only to Parliamentary boundaries, there is concern that this may be used in future to argue for a change in the local government boundaries.

There is more information and maps of the proposed constituencies on the Boundary Commission’s website: www.bce2018.org.uk

A 12 week public consultation has now started. Comments on the proposals can be made online on the Commission’s website, or by writing to: Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BQ. Comments must be received before 5 December 2016. Please note that all comments will be published online by the Boundary Commission – see their website for more details.