Councillors call for Electoral Office to scrap Crossgar plan

Councillors call for Electoral Office to scrap Crossgar plan

31 October 2018

THE Electoral Office has been urged to scrap draft proposals that will result in people who live in Crossgar not being able to vote in the village at next May’s council elections.

Instead, they will have to make their way to nearby Drumaghlis or Killyleagh to cast their vote, if the proposed changes are implemented.

A draft list of polling stations across the council area is currently out to public consultation which is due to end on December 19, ahead of a revised proposal being published early in the New Year.  A further 14 days will then be set aside for public comment before a final scheme is published.

Rowallane councillors Terry Andrews, Robert Burgess and Billy Walker are urging people concerned about not being able to vote in Crossgar to respond to the consultation.

They are concerned that people who live within touching distance of the designated polling station at Glasswater Primary School will have to make their way either to a church hall in Drumaghlis or a school in Killyleagh.

The local politicians say it is “somewhat ironic” that people who live on the periphery of Crossgar will be able to vote in the village, but those who live in the heart of the village won’t. 

They believe the Electoral Office’s draft proposal is “flawed” and warn it will particularly impact on the elderly and those who have no access to public transport.

“The bottom line is that if you live in Crossgar and intend to vote in next year’s council elections you will have to travel either three miles to Drumaghlis or five miles to Killyleagh,” said Cllr Andrews.

“In my opinion, the draft proposal is flawed and I hope it will be overturned so those who live in Crossgar can vote in Crossgar. Voters in other towns and villages vote where they reside, not several miles away. It is vital no impediment is placed in the way of people exercising their democratic right to vote.”

Cllr Andrews said it was “incredible” that voters who lived next door to Glasswater Primary School would have to travel to Drumaghlis or Killyleagh to vote.

“If implemented, this proposal has major ramifications for the elderly in particular and I hope it will be looked at again,” he remarked. “People should not have to travel several miles to vote.”

Cllr Burgess said the draft proposal will leave voters “frustrated” and hoped common sense will prevail so people who live in Crossgar can vote in the village.

“We are only talking about a proposal at this stage and I would encourage people to make the most of the consultation process. It is designed to let them have their say and they must grasp the opportunity,” he said.

“It seems daft that people in Crossgar are being asked to travel up to five miles away to decide who they want to represent them in the new council for the next four years.”

Cllr Walker said the needs of Crossgar voters must be taken on board.

He asked: “What about those who have no car and no access to public transport? What are they to do?

“What is being suggested is that while people in Crossgar must travel outside the village to vote, those in areas including Annacloy and Bells Hill will be heading into Crossgar to cast their vote.”

He added: “The draft proposal does not make sense to me. This is madness. The whole of Crossgar is being disenfranchised.”

Consultation responses should be forwarded to info@eoni.org.uk before 5pm on Wednesday, December 19.