Polling stations across Kirklees under review amid ward boundary shift ahead of 2026 local elections

In December, the Local Government Boundary Commission published its final recommendations for the political map of Kirklees following a review of the council wards across the borough. The amendments will be introduced in time for next year’s local elections, subject to government approval.

These include changes to Dalton, which will extend to cover Huddersfield town centre, and Paddock, which is to leave the Greenhead ward.

The wards of Colne Valley, Crosland Moor and Netherton, Golcar and Newsome will be no more, set to be renamed or made part of brand new wards, though Kirklees will still have 23 wards in total.

To align with the new arrangements for wards, Kirklees Council is conducting a review of all 186 polling districts and 194 polling stations within the district.

The local authority says the review is designed to see if the polling districts and places meet the needs of Kirklees voters, taking into account polling district boundaries, the location of polling places and stations, and accessibility.

Among the proposals are new polling stations, including those at the Chestnut Centre in the Ashbrow ward, St Thomas’ Church in the Batley East ward, and the Beaumont Park Visitor Centre that sits in the new Crosland Moor ward.

Elsewhere, the plans would see polling districts merged and boundaries redrawn.

Public consultation on the changes will run until Tuesday, April 29, with representations published alongside the response of the Returning Officer by the end of May.

The proposals will then be considered by the council’s corporate governance and audit committee before the revised register is released on Monday, December 1.

More information on the proposed changes and how you can comment can be found here: https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/voting-and-elections/local-government-boundary-review.aspx