The Licensing and General Purposes Committee of Harrow Council met on Monday 19 February 2024 to review polling places and polling districts. The committee approved recommendations for changes to several polling districts and polling places across the borough.

Review of Polling Places and Polling Districts

The committee approved recommendations for changes to polling districts and polling places across Harrow. These changes, introduced by Councillor Matthew Goodwin-Freeman on behalf of the Polling District Review Working Group, aim to ensure more suitable and accessible locations for voters.

Key changes include:

• Greenhill Ward: Electors in GH2 will now vote at Harrow Baptist Church, College Road, instead of the Pavilion Greenhill Library, as the library is now used by the Council's Registration Services.
• Harrow on the Hill: Electors in HH4 will vote at St George's Catholic Primary Voluntary Academy, Sudbury Hill, as their previous location, a Portakabin at the Rising Sun Hotel and Restaurant Car Park, South Vale, was damaged by fire and is unavailable.
• Harrow Weald: Following public consultation, electors living in High Road HW2 will now vote at Blackwell Hall, having been moved to HW1.
• Hatch End: The Hatch End Lawn Tennis Club will be used as a new venue for electors in HE2, and the Hatch End Free Church for those in HE3. These proposals received support during the public consultation.
• Headstone: Priory Way and Manor Way will be moved from Headstone PD2 into Headstone PD1.
• Pinner: Electors in PN1 will now vote at the Pinner Hill Community Centre, rather than Pinner Wood School, following objections received during the consultation period regarding the use of the school.
• Roxbourne: Electors in RB1 will vote at St Andrew's Church Hall, Malvern Avenue, as their previous location at Brookside Close has been demolished.

The committee noted that polling places for residents in SM3, SM4, and SM5 were incorrectly listed in Appendix A of the report, but were correctly shown in Appendix B.

The committee resolved to approve the recommendations of the Working Group for all future elections with immediate effect. They also agreed that any further changes in venue within a polling district would be decided by the Returning Officer in consultation with the relevant ward councillors.

The meeting was chaired by Councillor Susan Hall and was attended by Councillors Dan Anderson, June Baxter, Shahania Choudhury, Matthew Goodwin-Freeman, Chetna Halai, Rashmi Kalu, Amir Moshenson, Natasha Proctor, and Samir Sumaria. No Reserve Members were in attendance, and no declarations of interest were made. The meeting, which commenced at 5:15 pm, concluded at 5:23 pm.

You can find more information about the meeting in the Printed minutes and the Public reports pack.