The Secretary to the Commission Boundary Commission for England 35 Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BQ 19th

October 2011 Dear Sir, Parliamentary Boundary Review As Member of Parliament for Greenwich and Woolwich I am writing to object to the Commissions initial proposals for London. I have represented Greenwich since 1992 and Greenwich and Woolwich since 1997. I am both shocked and deeply concerned by the Commissions initial proposal which would ride roughshod over existing community links and divide the historic town of Greenwich between two separate constituencies. Greenwich has, I believe, been represented in a single Parliamentary constituency since 1832. It is internationally renowned for its maritime history, its incomparable architectural heritage, its magnificent Royal Park and as the home of the worlds Prime Meridian O. It comprises three electoral wards, Greenwich West, Peninsula and Blackheath Westcombe. Under the initial proposal these links would be severed. Greenwich West and Blackheath Westcombe would become part of a new Deptford and Greenwich constituency while Peninsula would become part of a new Woolwich constituency. The boundary would be wholly unnatural, separating Park Vista from Greenwich Park and the Old Royal Naval College from the Trafalgar Tavern and Park Row. It would divide the UNESCO World Heritage site between two constituencies. It would exclude the whole of North Greenwich and East Greenwich from the constituency called Deptford and Greenwich. A whole series of buildings, locations and communities which are intrinsically part of Greenwich, such as Trinity Hospital, Greenwich Power Station, the East Greenwich Pleasaunce, Greenwich Millennium Village, the Greenwich Yacht Club and the O2 would be excluded from the constituency carrying the Greenwich name. This is neither logical nor sustainable. At its eastern end, the proposed Woolwich constituency would include three wards currently in Erith and Thamesmead. This would split Thamesmead in half along the borough boundary, when there is a strong case for recognizing at least in Parliamentary representation, that Thamesmead is a single entity.

While understanding the constraints imposed by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, I believe that there is a much better and more logical solution which respects and even enhances existing community links, while satisfying the requirements of the numerical quota. That is to retain the existing Greenwich and Woolwich constituency with the sole exception of Glyndon ward (which was only made part of Greenwich and Woolwich from 2010), while adding Kidbrooke and Hornfair ward (which only ceased being part of Greenwich and Woolwich when moved to Eltham in 2010) and the Blackheath ward from Lewisham borough. The benefits of this constituency, which would comprise 75,571 electors, are: maintaining all of Greenwich in a single constituency reuniting those electors with an SE10 postcode who currently live to the east of Blackheath Hill with the majority SE10 (Greenwich) constituency uniting almost all of Blackheath in a single constituency, improving on the initial proposal which joined the Blackheath ward in Lewisham with Blackheath Westcombe from Greenwich, but left the Kidbrooke part of SE3 in Eltham reuniting all of Charlton (SE7) in a single constituency maintaining the link of Greenwich and Woolwich, the constituency I have represented since 1997 keeping almost all of Thamesmead in a single Parliamentary constituency.

This configuration not only demonstrably respects existing community ties and natural boundaries; it also involves significantly less disruption than the initial proposal. Apart from Glyndon and Kidbrooke with Hornfair (which respectively moved into and out of Greenwich and Woolwich less than 2 years ago) the only change would involve the Blackheath ward from Lewisham. There is an overwhelmingly strong case for making this change in order to unite Blackheath in a single Parliamentary constituency, a logic which presumably influenced the Commissions initial proposal to link Blackheath (Lewisham) with Blackheath Westcombe (Greenwich). I will be pleased to add further verbal evidence in support of this alternative proposal at the public hearing in Lewisham on 24th October. Yours faithfully,

Nick Raynsford MP