The electoral map of Barnet has been re-drawn to ensure local politics remains representative as the borough’s population grows.

Three new electoral wards will be created in the borough following a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Barnet will still have 63 councillors – but while all wards currently have three councillors, some will only have two following the shake-up.

All the current ward boundaries will change, and some are being renamed.

The changes, which are due to take effect in 2022, are designed to ensure the number of voters represented by each councillor is roughly the same across the borough while maintaining community identities.

They include the creation of a Cricklewood ward and the division of Colindale into separate Colindale North and Colindale South wards

With some areas of the borough growing faster than others, failing to re-draw the map would mean some wards having too many voters compared to councillors.

The Labour Group welcomed some of the changes but said it regretted the splitting of some town centres between wards.

Labour Group Chief Whip Cllr Geof Cooke said: “We are glad that the many new residents of Colindale will have the number of councillors they need and that the identities of Whetstone and Friern Barnet are recognised in new wards.

“However, we regret the splitting of Golders Green town centre between two wards once again, and the fact that this does not reflect the distinct community identities of Golders Green and Childs Hill.

“We also regret that roads around the southern end of Nether Street have been taken out of West Finchley, as this leaves that area isolated from Finchley Church End on the other side of the Tube station. A consequence of that change is that the town centres of Finchley Central and North Finchley are both split between wards.”

Conservative Group leader Cllr Dan Thomas said: “Over the course of the boundary review, the Conservative group made representations alongside hundreds of residents to try to ensure that wards retained their community identities while being electorally fair.

“While the commission agreed with us on many of our representations, we have been left disappointed by some of their choices.

“Ultimately, we accept the decisions the commission have made as final and will continue to represent the people of Barnet, whichever ward they are in.”

Full details of the changes are available here: http://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/greater-london/greater-london/barnet