A BORDER rejig which would see a Stockton ward consigned to the history books has been slammed.

Labour councillor Carol Clark has vented her fury at proposals to absorb the Grangefield ward into Newtown at 2023 elections.

The draft changes have been drawn up by the Local Government Boundary Commission as part of a revamp designed to cope with the borough’s rising population.

But Cllr Clark fears the identity of the neighbourhood will be lost if Grangefield is deleted from the electoral map.

“This is my area – I wouldn’t want to go elsewhere,” she said.

“I’ve lived here for 40 years now and these are my people – they all know me and trust me.

“People have been in contact with me saying they don’t want to go into Newtown – we’re not the same.

“We don’t have the same facilities – and when you think of the Grangefield name, we’ve got the park, the school, and all sorts of things to do with Grangefield.

“We’ve got different shops, different houses, and different buses – we don’t want to lose the Grangefield name.”

Cllr Clark was elected in 2011 and represents the Grangefield ward alongside Conservative councillor Stephen Richardson.

Border chiefs have agreed with Tory proposals to extend the Newtown ward south along the A1027 to include all of Stockton Grange and Grangefield.

The commission’s draft report showed the Conservatives had argued this area was more associated with its neighbours in Newtown – and that the other people in the existing Grangefield ward had “more affinity” with neighbouring wards.

“We have based our draft recommendations for this area on the Conservative group’s proposed Newtown ward,” it added.

The change would mean there’d be no mention of Grangefield in any of Stockton’s wards.

Stockton’s council boundaries were last redrawn in 2003.

Cllr Clark wasn’t pleased commission officials hadn’t visited the area – instead conducting “virtual tours” as part of their review.

In the meantime, she has lodged her own “counter proposal” and a petition against the planned removal of Grangefield from the map.

Cllr Clark added: “When they talked about community identity, how can they know?”

Changes lined up by border bosses have already ruffled feathers in neighbouring Fairfield.

Veteran independents Bill Woodhead and Maurice Perry have heavily criticised proposals to split Fairfield in two along Bishopton Road West to create “Fairfield South” and “Fairfield North and Elm Tree”.

Cllr Woodhead accused border bosses of “living in cocoons” and treating Stockton “shabbily”.

But Cllr Tony Riordan, leader of the Conservative group, said his party had “engaged positively” with the process when suggestions about boundary changes were lodged,

He also questioned why Cllr Clark had not spoken out sooner.

Meanwhile, Cllr Richardson said he believed the plans would “put residents first”.

He added: “I enjoy representing the Grangefield ward, however, it is complex as it currently has large parts of Fairfield, Hartburn and Grangefield within its boundary.

“I often hear from residents who feel more a part of Hartburn or Fairfield but live within the Grangefield ward.

“I also hear concerns from residents living in the traditional Grangefield area and how they will be impacted by the changes.”

The Conservative member added he’d told residents to pass on their feedback to the independent commission.

Cllr Richardson said: “With a changing population in Stockton – which includes the development of new housing – it is important that the boundaries are reviewed and evolve with the times.

“The Labour group has had plenty of opportunities to highlight their concerns and to also submit feedback in this independent process.”

The LGBC is an independent body accountable to Parliament.

Its consultation on new ward boundaries closed last month with officials revealing more than 60 people had aired their views on Stockton’s ward borders.

The commission’s final recommendations will be published in November.

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