A CHEPSTOW county councillor has accused the boundary commission of ‘carving up’ the Thornwell ward and ignoring local views.

Cllr Armand Watts, who represents the Thornwell ward in the town of Chepstow, has opposed changes to the ward for more than a decade.

Now he has hit out at the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales over their plans to ‘carve up’ his ward.

The commission is in the process of reviewing the county council’s electoral wards and has put forward its final recommendations for Monmouthshire.

Under the plans, Cllr Watts’ ward of Thornwell, will be combined with the Bulwark area of the town – just like the approved community ward changes, which will come into effect next year.

In fact, the changes to county council wards will mirror exactly the approved changes to the town council wards, including moving the internal boundaries.

These boundary changes include moving a section of to the west of Thornwell Road from Thornwell into Bulwark.

A new Maple Avenue ward would also take a residential area out of Thornwell, including Maple Avenue itself, Hawthorn Close, Holly Close and part of Rowan Drive.

The changes to the community ward boundaries in Chepstow went against the town council’s recommendations and Cllr Watts said he was told the county review could give them a chance to look again at the changes – but this hasn’t happened.

Cllr Watts said: “In 2011 they tried to merge Thornwell with Portskewett but it’s ludicrous – there’s a ward in between.

“Nobody has been out to visit the wards otherwise they’d clearly see the changes they have proposed.”

About the current proposals for the county ward boundaries, Cllr Watts said:

“Thornwell has been carved up, they’ve removed most of Thornwell Road from the ward.

“They’ve changed it on an industrial scale.

“The increase in numbers is disproportionate.

“It is going from one of the largest wards in the county to one of the smallest.”

Cllr Watts said the town council’s proposal for single-member wards had been ignored.

“The public have not had a chance to have an input not on this unless they’re in the know,” he said.

If given the commission’s proposals are approved by the Welsh Government then the approved community changes will also come into effect on a county council level, with two councillors representing the ward.