Boundary review to costat least £320k

Mr Campbell asked Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers what estimate she has made of expenditure on work associated with the Parliamentary Boundary Review.

Replting on her behalf Minister of State, Mike Penning, said: “The estimated cost of the boundary review in Northern Ireland between September 2012 and the end of the review is £320,000. A significant portion of that sum has already been committed.”

Between now and the end of September next £226k will be spent on staff costs and professional services; £21k will be spent on commissioners’ fees and expenses; £53k will be spent on accommodation; £7k will be spent on administration; and £13k will be spent on other review costs.

The Sentinel recently reported how the UUP wanted to abandon Eglinton to a proposed new ‘Glenshane constituency’ in order to allow Macosquin’s inclusion in an electoral area comprising Coleraine and North Antrim.

The UUP were willing to detach the Eglinton ward and its 2,955 electors from the Londonderry polity to which it traditionally gravitates.

The party felt it was worth sacrificing Eglinton to a new constituency stretching from Greysteel to Cookstown in order to maintain Macosquin’s link with Coleraine.

However, the Boundary Commission, which has been appointed to review parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland, rejected the UUP proposal and opted to keep Eglinton in a new Foyle County Constituency and keep Macosquin in the new Glenshane constituency.