"Highly contentious" moves to take Bedale and surrounding parishes out of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency have been included in the latest draft of a national parliamentary boundary shake-up.

Objectors say it makes no sense and many protests were made during consultations. But in a Boundary Commission of England report officers announced they are recommending the move goes ahead with Bedale, Aiskew and West Tanfield moved into the neighbouring constituency of Thirsk and Malton, currently represented by MP Kevin Hollinrake.

People have one month to comment before the changes are put before parliament. The shake-up is part of moves to even out numbers of residents MPs represent.

Local campaigner Yvonne Rose said: “To remove Bedale from the Richmondshire constituency to put us in one that stretches to the coast makes no sense, except to Londoners looking at numbers rather than a map. The Boundary Commission website is yet again impenetrable. But we will provide more help via OfficialBedale Facebook so that people can comment within the four-week period, as there is no appeal once this consultation is over.”

In the report the commission concludes: “The consultation process showed the proposed transfer of the Bedale and Tanfield wards to be highly contentious. Multiple representations said that these wards are intimately linked to the towns of Northallerton and Richmond, with Bedale described as a ‘suburb of Northallerton’ with very few links with the communities of Thirsk and Malton.

“It was also stated that Bedale has much more affinity with the Yorkshire Dales area to the west, rather than the North York Moors to the east, with the town described as ‘the gateway to the Dales’.”

It had originally been suggested that Great Ayton should be taken out of Richmond constituency and moved into Thirsk and Malton but after objections it was changed to Bedale and West Tanfield.

The report adds: “The Assistant Commissioners acknowledged the strength of opposition to the inclusion of the Bedale and Tanfield wards in the proposed Thirsk and Malton constituency. They appreciated that these wards likely have closer links to the towns of Northallerton and Richmond, rather than with the population centres of the proposed Thirsk and Malton constituency.

"Despite this, the Assistant Commissioners did not recommend any change to the composition of either the proposed Richmond, Yorks, or Thirsk and Malton constituencies. This was due to the lack of any counter-proposal that they considered to be superior to the initial proposals.”

For information see bcereviews.org.uk

The commissioners accepted recommendations that the name of the constituency be changed from Richmond, Yorks, to Richmond, Northallerton in recognition of the county town of North Yorkshire.