Summary of public consultation responses to 2025 Polling Districts and Polling Places Review
| Borough wide comments | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Polling Stations should be in a building for everyone to access, i.e. not up or down a hill/back where no transport links. |
| 2 | Adequate parking |
| 3 | How can Heworth Grange be inaccessible- it's a school which has to cater for all accessible needs? |
| 4 | Gateshead is fortunate to have a professional Election Department - leave it to them |
| 5 | The number of voters per polling area should be as near equal as possible. Have 272 voters in one area and over 1000 in the neighbouring area is wrong. The boundaries should be such that the number of voters is equal |
| 6 | Avoid using schools especially SEN school |
| 7 | Try being honest for a start |
| 8 | Get rid of all polling stations and make all voting either postal on online |
| 9 | Develop a station finder app with accessibility ratings, queue estimates, and virtual tours. This could address navigation issues in hilly areas and enhance postal voting options for those facing accessibility barriers. Provide mandatory training on assisting disabled voters and handling eco-initiatives, reducing complaints like those in Pelaw, Heworth and Bill Quay about access distances. |
| 10 | Making sure there's one close enough for everyone to access |
| 11 | Don't use schools, disruption to children's education as well as parents having to take extra time off work, this is not good use of already stretched education facilities |
| 12 | At Eighton Banks we seem to be treated like an awkward appendage. We were part of Blaydon, now we're part of Washington! It's nonsense! We should be part Birtley or High Fell or somewhere much closer! |
| Ward specific comments | |
|---|---|
| Chopwell and Rowlands Gill | |
| Winlaton and High Spen | Polling stations should not be held in an individual's home. Risk assessments should be available |
| Blaydon | I live very close to Trinity Methodist Church Hall but am in district ECG so have a much longer walk to West Acres Communal Room at the edge of the district. None of the polling places in Blaydon seem very central to the districts. South Lea Communal lounge is too small, with poor parking provision. Winlaton Vulcans an Parkhead school would both be better. Reinstate Denton view (river view) community lounge as a polling station. For many years it has served as a polling station enabling the many elderly people of the locality to register their vote. The nearest station last elections involved a bus / taxi journey, the difficulty and expense of this resulted in many people not voting at all |
| Whickham South and Sunniside | Keep it at Fellside Methodist Church - a lot easier to access, better location for those walking/driving, has always worked well |
| Dunston Hill and Whickham East | If local elections it's whether I can be bothered to vote, would be better if you could vote over the internet Dunston should be one district |
| Dunston, Teams & Riverside | Possibly some more polling stations. I would swap Denholme lodge for the community centre, also use Teams Life Centre. Dunston should not be split; it causes divisions in the community |
| Lobley Hill and Bensham | |
| Saltwell | In Ventnor Crescent, we are no longer part of this ward No, I am happy with the proposed changes Kelvin Grove Primary School - I'd like to raise my concerns again over our school being used as a polling station and ask if there is not an option to rotate to a different school? We have tried to look at how we can keep the school open during the polling, but it is not possible due to the layout of the school. We have to close to pupils each time and this has a detrimental impact on attendance the next day. Is there anything that can be done about this please? |
| Low Fell | Low Fell ward now includes Ventnor Gardens and Ventnor Crescent, previously part of Saltwell ward. These houses are at the bottom edge of Low Fell and it is a steep climb up Bell Vue Bank to St Helens Church Hall. I don't think there is any off-road parking available and safe parking on Bell Vue Bank is very limited. The route from Ventnor Gardens/ Crescent also involves crossing Saltwell Road South, which can be very busy. It was much more convenient when we had a polling station in Ventnor Gardens. Has the Nine Pins Inn been considered for voters at the lower end of this district? |
| Chowdene | |
| Bridges | |
| Deckham | |
| High Fell | |
| Felling | |
| Windy Nook and Whitehills | |
| Pelaw, Heworth and Bill Quay | Hertfordshire House is down a small but significant hill and a lot of people with walking issues don't bother to vote because of this. |
| Wardley and Leam Lane | |
| Birtley North & Lamesley | |
| Birtley South | |