Certain polling stations in Redbridge will be relocated from schools in a bid to reduce disruption to pupils.
The council says the new stations are also more accessible and convenient for voters, following a review and months-long consultation.
“Consultation feedback, as well as feedback throughout the year from schools, is to try to move away from the use of schools where possible,” officers said in a report published last week.
Officers have recommended Bridge Church in Latchett Road over Woodbridge High School, following reports that polling is “very disruptive for the secondary school students”.
They have also earmarked the Redbridge Drama Centre to replace Churchfields Junior School. During the consultation, the school submitted a request to no longer be used due to the “severe disruption that closure of the school causes both the children and parents”.
The headteacher at Seven Kings High School said it was both a safeguarding issue and a cause of “severe disruption” because the school could not be closed to students.
In Aldborough, officers recommend using Gants Hill Library as a polling place rather than St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School. In the Bridge ward, the polling place will be moved from Roding Primary School to St Pauls Church Hall.
The council says both are “well known locally” and are preferable to primary schools.
The council will also look to move away from using Mossford Green Primary School in Fulwell and St Anthony’s RC Primary School in the Monkhams ward, citing similar issues.
In most wards, churches will replace schools as polling places.
The next round of local elections will take place in May 2026. Eligible voters across London will take to the polls to elect new councillors, in what will largely be seen as a litmus test for faith in the current Labour government.
The council looked to use either Hainault Forest Golf Club or Hainault Golf Club in order to establish a new polling district in Hainault, east of Romford Road. Both venues declined the council’s requests.
Councillors previously pushed for mobile polling stations, such as Portakabins, to be used in areas where suitable locations could not be found.
However, officers said they would be expensive and staff were “reluctant to spend 16 hours in conditions with limited facilities”.
Voters also expressed dissatisfaction with Portakabins following the 2024 general election over a lack of space and privacy.
The changes will carry over to the next general election, which is currently slated for August 2029 at the latest.
