VOTERS will go to the polls on May 5 to elect their North Ayrshire councillors – and a series of changes to the area’s ward boundaries will take effect at the same time.

A new Arran ward will have a single councillor, while there will be three five-member wards created, in the Garnock Valley, North Coast, and Saltcoats and Stevenston.

Ardrossan will become a single ward with three councillors.

Voters will go to the polls on May 5 to elect councillors to represent them on North Ayrshire Council.

Following a review by Boundaries Scotland, there will be changes to a number of ward boundaries in North Ayrshire this year.

There will be a single councillor for the new Arran ward, reflecting its island status. There will be three five-member wards that better reflect localities in the Garnock Valley, North Coast, and Saltcoats and Stevenston.

Ardrossan will be placed within a single ward, with three members.

Although the number of wards will be reduced from ten to nine, there will still be 33 Councillors in total.

There are no boundary changes to the existing Irvine and Kilwinning wards.

Returning Officer Craig Hatton said: “These elections will see a number of important changes to boundaries across North Ayrshire, including the creation of a single-member ward specifically for Arran and a number of new multi-member wards.“It’s important that people get to know their new ward boundaries and the Electoral Registration Officer for Ayrshire has already written to every household in North Ayrshire advising of the date of the council elections, encouraging people to register to vote and where appropriate, highlighting changes to wards and polling places.”

In the council elections voters list the candidates on their ballot paper in numerical order, with 1 their first choice, 2 their second and so on. Voters can choose as many or as few candidates as they wish.

The deadline for registering to vote is Monday, April18.

Voters should be aware that council elections in Scotland use the Single Transferable Vote system (STV) to elect councillors.

In Parliamentary Elections and referendums, voters will have placed an ‘X’ next to their preferred choice but under the STV system – used in Council elections since 2007 - voters will instead vote using numbers and list their preference in numerical order.

For example, marking a 1 next to their first choice, a 2 next to their second choice, and a 3 next to their third choice and so on. Voters can vote for as many, or as few, candidates as they wish.

Applications to register to vote must reach the Electoral Registration Officer (for Ayrshire) at 9 Wellington Square, Ayr KA7 1HL by 12 midnight on Monday, 18 April, 2022. Applications can be made online at: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

This election also gives the right to vote to those who are aged 16 and 17 on election day, but they must be registered to vote.

The deadline for new postal vote and postal proxy applications is 5pm on Tuesday, April 19.

Nominations for candidates will open at 10am on Tuesday, 15 March, 2022, and must be returned by no later than 4pm on Wednesday, 30 March, 2022. Candidates or their Election Agents should contact the Council’s Election Office on (01294) 324710 to make an appointment to submit Nomination papers.

Voting will open at 7am on Thursday, 5 May, with polling places closing at 10pm. The electronic verification and counting of votes will be held the following day, Friday, 6 May.

The new wards and number of councillors to be elected to represent them are:

Ward

Number of Councillors to be elected

01 – North Coast 5

02 – Garnock Valley 5

03 – Ardrossan 3

04 – Arran 1

05 – Saltcoats and Stevenston 5

06 – Kilwinning 4

07 – Irvine West 4

08 – Irvine East 3

09 – Irvine South 3

TOTAL 33