Local politicians have welcomed proposed changes to Parliamentary constituencies which would see Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich combined into one seat.

The Boundary Commission for England has released revised proposals for a shake-up of constituencies in an effort to rebalance the number of voters in each area, with the number of seats in England set to increase from 533 to 543.

The move means the current seats of Weaver Vale and Sandbach would cease to exist, with two new constituencies – Mid Cheshire and Chester South and Eddisbury taking their place.

Mid Cheshire would bring together Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich, and would also include the villages of Davenham, Greenbank, Hartford, Kingsmead, Moulton and Rudheath.

The commission released a first draft of the proposals last June which included a dedicated Northwich constituency and which would have seen the town of Winsford split in half. Following a public consultation, the new proposals have now been released.

Leftwich councillor Andrew Cooper welcomed the revisions. He said: “Uniting the three salt towns of Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich into a single parliamentary constituency is the right decision.

"The towns face many similar challenges around bringing our infrastructure into the 21st century, attracting good jobs to the area, and restoring a sense of pride to this part of Cheshire.

"No longer will we be the leftovers on the borders of big, countywide constituencies.  We'll have one voice with the mandate to articulate and fight for a better future for our community.”

Winsford Wharton Cllr Nathan Pardoe agreed, he added: “I’m delighted with the proposals. They’ve reflected the comments from many who took part and who wanted to see a meaningful constituency.

"Middlewich, Northwich and Winsford have a shared industrial heritage, with a proud history of salt mining and production which continues to this day. "

The changes would only impact on how votes are counted during general elections and council wards would remain the same.

Further consultation will now take place until December 5 and  the commission will decide whether to make any adjustments before giving its final set of recommendations to the Speaker of the House of Commons by July 1 next year.

Tim Bowden, Secretary to the Boundary Commission for England, said: “We now believe we are close to the best map of constituencies that can be achieved under the rules we are working to.

"However, we still want people to tell us what they think of this latest map before we submit our final recommendations to Parliament next year."

The public are invited to view and comment on the new boundary map at bcereviews.org.uk.