If Birmingham has learned one thing from the wholesale redrawing of council ward maps this week it is that community identity matters a lot to people.
It is not just about house prices, insurance premiums or school catchment areas as no estate agents or insurance companies ever look at council ward designations when deciding these things.
But many residents, including in Moseley, Hall Green, the Jewellery Quarter and Erdington, do feel a certain pride in their locality. A name matters, even if it is only the local ward name.
So the Local Government Boundary Commission, tasked with working out how to fit about 100 councillors into the city map, was never going to please everyone at the first attempt.
This is especially compounded as only a handful of residents and groups responded to their earlier call for information and suggestions. Few residents have any idea what an area covering an average of 7,215 voters should look like anyway.
The most detailed contributions they had were from political parties who drew their boundary lines with one eye on voting patterns and electoral advantage.
Another problem drawing them up is that main roads, such as High Streets, and rail lines, make for good boundaries but they tend to go through the middle of established communities rather that around the outside.
But, having taken the plunge, we now have a set of proposals for 77 wards and we are (so far) aware of significant dissatisfaction with about a dozen of them.
After finding several key local facilities including the rail station annexed by a neighbouring ward, Hall Green councillor Kerry Jenkins said: “These proposed changes are a complete nonsense and must have been made by someone sat behind a desk.”
The people of Moseley were most shocked to find their village centre, with its bohemian, artisan shops and thriving nightlife, designated as Balsall Heath and Cannon Hill.
Meanwhile, Balsall Heath Park remains on the Moseley side of the divide. Confusing – especially for a reporter trying to explain the local geography to the wider city in a 250 word story.
The only bright side for them was that Moseley will not be getting the feared Costa Coffee chain cafe after all as it will be in Balsall Heath.
And people in the Jewellery Quarter are baffled as to why, after the recent city living boom, it is not significant enough to warrant its own named seat in the council chamber, rather than sharing its representative with neighbouring Winson Green.
And having seen their electoral chances diminish with a reduction in numbers those councillors who plan to stick around beyond 2018 will be looking to see where their best chances of re-election lie after the changes. So, we expect to see a few spurious complaints join the legitimate ones.
With something tangible to complain about, the Boundary Commission will be inundated with ideas for the revision of the lines and, after the February consultation deadline passes, they will literally be redrawing the political map of Birmingham.
But one idea has occurred if the various issues cannot be resolved to general satisfaction.
And it came via an unrelated news item involving the mayor and a councillor in Birmingham, Alabama who came to blows during a meeting this week. The councillor involved, Marcus Lundy, represents the city’s 9th district.
So, if names do present a major problem, why not just go with a numerical designation? For that, we already have the map.
