Norwich neighbourhood switches election constituencies

For the residents of a handful of streets in Norwich, next month's election will not only be a chance to vote for a different party, but for a different constituency altogether.

The roads, near Mousehold Heath, have been switched from Norwich South to Norwich North, as part of a series of changes introduced by the Boundary Commission.

Not that many locals seem to be too aware.

A straw poll of around 30 voters this week found only one who knew about the change of constituency.

Among those in the dark was Nathan Clarke, 33, who lives in Anchor Street.

"I've had no information whatsoever about this," he said.

Not that it would make much difference. "I'll still vote for Labour," he added. Nathan Clarke, who lives in Anchor Street (Image: Newsquest)

The changes to parliamentary constituency boundaries in Norfolk will see around 15 streets near Mousehold Heath moved into Norwich North. 

These include Mousehold Street, Anchor Street, Morley Street and a section of Silver Road.

Boundaries are occasionally reviewed to make sure that constituencies are all roughly a similar size and respect local ties between areas.

Many across the UK will see some alterations for next month's elections.

Those vying for the Norwich North seat include Conservative candidate Charlotte Salomon, Labour's Alice Macdonald and Green city councillor Ben Price.

READ MORE: It's Norfolk's fiercest election battleground... but are the voters that fussed?

Alice Macdonald the Labour candidate for Norwich North (Image: Submitted)

Chika Akinwale is also standing for the Lib Dems and Nick Taylor for Reform UK. 

Lyndsey Skells, who lives in Silver Road, will for the first time be voting in the same constituency as her neighbours opposite, after her address was transferred into Norwich North.

The 34-year-old said: "I'm going to stick with voting for Labour but you never see the candidates. I have no idea who they are and I'll probably never meet them. 

"We should have been made aware of this and I don't know why they've done it."

Morley Street in Norwich (Image: Newsquest)

But her neighbour, Tracey England, said she had been informed about the constituency boundary change several weeks ago. 

She said: "We had a leaflet through the door around the time of the local elections. 

"I think more should have been done to inform people. We haven't had anyone come round."

These addresses have moved from Norwich South to Norwich North (Image: Google Maps)

The people living along these streets were previously represented by Labour's Clive Lewis, who is bidding for re-election as MP in Norwich South. 

Alice Macdonald, the Labour candidate for Norwich North, was a less familiar name to the new constituents. 

Gay Hall, who lives in Mousehold Road, said: "I've never heard of her.

"But I've been a staunch Labour voter all my life and that won't change."