Residents of a small Somerset village within the Exmoor National Park face a "four-mile hike" to reach their nearest polling station at next year's local elections.
Somerset Council has carried out a root-and-branch review of Somerset polling stations, ensuring that facilities across the county meet the required standards when voters go to the polls on May 6, 2027.
The council's constitution and governance committee met in Taunton on Thursday afternoon (September 24) to agree the final list of buildings, reducing the total number of polling places from 382 to 348.
But Councillor Steven Pugsley, one of two Conservative councillors for the Dulverton and Exmoor division, criticised the removal of a key polling station in Hawkridge, arguing that residents could not easily access other sites or use postal voting.
The proposed list of polling stations went out to public consultation between July 23 and September 3, with the council receiving 112 responses - a "very high" level compared to the national average of 30 replies.
In addition to other changes, Hawkridge Village Hall (which lies on Broad Lane in the centre of the village) has been removed from the list of venues which will be used.
Mr Pugsley - a former leader of West Somerset Council - took issue with this decision, stating: "Rural polling station are one thing; extremely rural polling stations are another.
"I do think it is absolutely incumbent upon us to recognise the fact that, however costly they might be, making sure democracy reaches to all corners of the county is absolutely imperative - even in west Somerset, even on Exmoor.
"I know we've already got 16 polling stations protected in this vast area, but nevertheless there is one which seems to have disappeared from the list - and historically a lot of effort has been made to retain it.
"I know that the parish clerk responded [to the consultation] to say that there should continue to be a polling station at Hawkridge, as there has been for decades - but this does not appear in the list or in the officer's commentary.
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"Ironically, it does have very good broadband – but there is a four-mile hike between it and the next nearest polling station over not particularly good terrain (although I'm sure Councillor Richard Wilkins will do his best to make sure that the roads do remain open, even in the depths of winter).
"It is a separate community, which is some way removed from the next nearest polling station - and I believe that it is important that we do maintain these deeply rural polling stations in areas like that where the alternatives are limited.
"This is about making sure that democracy is available to anyone."
Around 40 people are on the electoral roll in the parish of Hawkridge, with the council believing the community had "insufficient numbers" to justify having their own polling station.
Mr Pugsley added: "Exmoor is one of the most sparsely populated areas of the county, I acknowledge that - but that therefore means that we have to make above and beyond provision for rural areas.
"It needs to be there, if nothing else as a signal to everyone else that Somerset Council takes rural democracy seriously."
Under the new proposals, the closest polling station to Hawkridge will be the town hall in Dulverton - not far from the nearest post office to the village.
Councillor Sue Osborne (Conservative, Ilminster) shared Mr Pugsley's reservations about postal voting, stating: "At the moment, the rural postal service leaves a lot to be desired.
"I'd be very concerned that there is a risk that people may not get their postal votes through."
Councillor Ross Henley (Liberal Democrat, Blackdown and Neroche) - who chaired the meeting - responded: "There are problems with Royal Mail - there have been for some time, and they have been well highlighted.
"But I think it's fair to say that the process of postal voting is not a disaster, as some people wish to point out - it's actually quite a robust process. The amount of problems are not anywhere as bad as some people might say."
The full list of candidates standing in the 2027 local elections is expected to be made public by early-April 2027.
A full list of polling stations can be viewed here.
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