The Jesmond ward boundary lines are set to change ahead of the May local elections, bringing together North Jesmond and South Jesmond to create a unified Jesmond ward. While the new boundaries may take some adjusting to, councillors say this shift better reflects the reality of how Jesmond functions as a community.

In the revised map, the new Jesmond ward will combine what is currently North Jesmond and South Jesmond, increasing the neighbourhood’s electorate to about 6,000. The ward will still be represented by just three councillors, raising questions about how councillors are preparing to adjust their capacity, visibility and engagement with residents accordingly. 

“It was always a fairly strange, arbitrary boundary,” North Jesmond Liberal Democrat councillor James Coles told JesmondLocal. For many Jesmond residents, this rings true. The former north-south divide has split Jesmond in half, even breaking streets like Osborne Road in half. 

North Jesmond Lib Dem councillor Philip Browne said he welcomes the change. “It’s nice that Jesmond will be unified,” he told JesmondLocal.

Preparations underway

Councillors are in agreement that it will mean “a lot more work”, but they say it’s something they’re ready for. Peter Allen, the third Lib Dem representing North Jesmond, said councillors have, for all intents and purposes, been treating North and South Jesmond as one since finding out about the boundary changes. 

“We’ve actually been preparing for over a year now,” Allen told JesmondLocal. Coles echoed this, saying that they’ve “switched to a new boundary method of operating, so a lot of communication has been Jesmond-wide and not just North Jesmond specific.” 

The three councillors have been canvassing in South Jesmond, researching the area and making enquiries to familiarise themselves with local issues. Coles said the aim was to ensure there were no gaps in their knowledge once the new ward formally comes into effect. “We’re trying to get ahead of any nasty surprises,” he told JesmondLocal.

The new boundary lines mean the number of residents represented by the councillors will rise sharply – but Browne noted that even this does not fully capture the scale of the ward. Residents are counted through the electoral roll, not by how many people actually live in the area, meaning the true population is likely to be significantly higher, especially given Jesmond’s large student population.

This expansion presents practical challenges, specifically around resident engagement. Councillors say face-to-face interaction remains a priority, allowing residents to properly explain concerns and feel heard. But with many more streets and households to cover, traditional door-knocking will inevitably become more difficult.

Coles said their door-knocking has always received a “very positive response”, and Allen stressed that the practice would continue to happen. “The only thing that changes is scale,” he told JesmondLocal. 

Browne agreed with the importance of continued engagement, saying that “the main thing is listening to the residents – what’s bothering them, what they like, what they don’t like, how we think the community could be better served.”

Councillors say they will continue to rely on multiple forms of outreach. They already attend Armstrong Bridge Market every other Sunday and plan to keep using it as a visible, accessible point of contact. Leaflets and digital newsletters will also remain central to keeping residents informed about local issues and councillor activity.

Salient issues

Despite the merger, many of the big issues across the current wards remain similar: namely housing, traffic and transport, though councillors say these manifest in subtly different ways across the ward.

Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) have been a focus across North Jesmond, and while they are less concentrated in the Vale than they are in North Jesmond, they will still be taken as a matter of importance. 

Traffic and parking complaints continue to be a prominent issue raised. In the south of the ward, these concerns centre around school drop-off and pick-up congestion across several schools. Yet in North Jesmond, this pressure is largely limited to West Jesmond Primary. 

Public transport concerns also vary. While North Jesmond often has complaints about metro links and service reliability, residents in South Jesmond are more likely to have issues about the bus services along the Coast Road, and the traffic they’re affected by.

Browne recognises that distinct pockets within the ward have their own requirements, but said they generally share a unified set of concerns. He added the the nature of the current-South Jesmond ward is very similar to its northern counterpart, leaving councillors confident, said Browne, that they can represent both areas with the same level of success.

Optimistic outlook

The North Jesmond Liberal Democrat councillors said they believe that their track record positions them well for the expanded ward. Alongside their strong green credentials – where they have taken steps to improve the lived-in environment in Jesmond, such as street cleaning, water cleanliness, green traffic management – they also point to their successes on student council tax exemptions and monitoring HMO licenses.  

Coles said that the North Jesmond LibDems are truly committed to “looking beneath the bonnet” to find the root cause of issues, rather than offering temporary or short-term solutions. Allen added that being “responsive and visible” to residents was central to their ethos, saying that they aim to engage residents as a community and keep them updated so concerns feel properly addressed.

As May’s election approaches, Jesmond faces new challenges with the changes to the boundary lines. But councillors are confident that the expansion is positive and will only further Jesmond’s strong “sense of community.”