Sinn Fein held a protest meeting in Dungiven last Sunday over the plans to divide the town into three constituencies
PLANS to divide a town into three constituencies are to be robustly challenged ahead of next Monday’s deadline on public consultation.
Dungiven’s population of over 3,000 people will be divided across the West Tyrone, Mid Ulster and Glenshane constituencies for Westminster elections if the Boundary Commission proposals are passed.
The Boundary Commission produced a map in 2016 showing how Westminster constituencies in Northern Ireland could be reduced from 18 to 17. However, this was later revised.
The new version now divides Dungiven’s Main Street into two.
People living on one side would be in the West Tyrone constituency and those on the opposite side in Mid Ulster.
The town is further split at Drumrane Road which would see people living in Dungiven’s hinterland having to vote in the proposed constituency of Glenshane.
The Don’t Divide Dungiven group is challenging these proposals. It has already staged a protest on the town’s Main Street and launched a petition which has garnered more than 3,000 signatures to date.
Mary Dillon from the group said: “We believe that no town should be splintered, fractured and divided – we are a close-knit community and we plan to remain so, as a community in one constituency.
“We are delighted with the response from our community in such a short period of time.
“We have over 3,000 signatures in less than three days on our online petition and that number is growing daily.
“We have volunteers in the community going door to door collecting letters of objection to be submitted to the commission before the deadline of March 26.
“We are a hard-working community and we believe in ourselves and what we are trying to achieve here. Our community has sent a clear message to the Boundary Commission that the people of the Dungiven area will not sit back idly and wait to be decimated.”
Sinn Fein East Derry MLA, Caoimhe Archibald whose constituency office is situted on Dungiven’s Main Street will be in West Tyrone, described the proposals as “a gerrymander for the 21st century”.
A spokesman for the Boundary Commission said: “We encourage people to put in their responses to the consultation.
“It is by people telling the Commission their concerns, if they are happy or unhappy, that help inform the Commission so we can maybe offer alternative solutions.”
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