The Boundary Commission for England has backtracked on its plans to move Emerson Park into the Romford parliamentary constituency after resident opposition.

It has unveiled the latest version of its proposals to reshape constituencies across east London as well as the whole country.

In a report published today (November 8), the latest plans see the Emerson Park ward split between the Hornchurch and Upminster constituency, where Julia Lopez is the incumbent MP, and Romford, a seat held by Andrew Rosindell.

READ MORE: Hundreds file furious objections to Havering boundary change scheme

The parts of Emerson Park that are proposed to be part of Romford would be those which now fall under the new Squirrel's Heath ward.

Havering's council ward boundaries were changed following a review ahead of May's local elections.

The changes come after the Boundary Commission says it received almost 600 representations opposing its initial plan to move the whole of Emerson Park ward to the Romford constituency.

Petitions gathered by Ms Lopez and the Hornchurch and Upminster Conservative Association totalled more than 1,500 signatures against the plan.

The commission said in its report that the opposition came mainly from Emerson Park residents who "consider themselves part of the Hornchurch community".

The plan did receive backing from Mr Rosindell and four postal petitions totalling more than 500 signatures.

Other aspects of the commission's latest proposals see the existing Hacton and St Andrew's wards divided between Hornchurch and Upminster and the Dagenham and Rainham constituencies.

A final consultation has now opened for people to submit their views and will run until December 5.

The commission will then analyse the responses and form its final recommendations, which will be submitted to Parliament by July 2023.

Tim Bowden, secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said: “Last year we published our initial proposals for new constituency boundaries – our first go at what the map should look like.

"We are delighted with the huge number of comments from members of the public on our initial proposals, many which included valuable evidence about local communities. 

"We now believe we are close to the best map of constituencies that can be achieved under the rules we are working to.  

"However, we still want people to tell us what they think of this latest map before we submit our final recommendations to Parliament next year."

To view and comment on the latest plans, visit bcereviews.org.uk.

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