South Lakeland Further Electoral Review

Last Updated: 3 April 2024

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) conducted a further electoral review in 2015 because a number of the district wards in South Lakeland had an electoral variance of more than, or less than 10%. This means that the number of electors in these wards was at least 10% higher or 10% lower than the average number of electors for all wards. 

Final recommendations of the Further Electoral Review

The LGBCE's proposals for our electoral arrangements were that:

• SLDC should be represented by 51 councillors, the same number as there were before
• South Lakeland should have 18 wards, 27 fewer than there were before
• SLDC should be made up of 51 councillors serving 18 wards representing three two-councillor wards and 15 three-councillor wards. As we continued to elect in thirds, we were required to have as many three member wards as possible. Geography, community identity and other criteria were taken into consideration when drawing up the new wards
• the boundaries of all but one wards should change. Sedbergh & Kirkby Lonsdale (which was already a three-councillor ward before the review) did not change

The South Lakeland (Electoral Changes) Order 2017 was relaid in draft in Parliament on 13 September 2017. This brought the recommendations into force and the new electoral arrangements for SLDC were implemented at the local elections on 3 May 2018, when every district ward was up for election.