CONTROVERSIAL parliamentary boundary proposals to split a constituency in the New Forest have been dismissed after a public inquiry.

Plans to create a new Boldre and Sway ward and move it into New Forest West were rejected by Assistant Commissioner Roger Ellis after the inquiry held at Winchester Guildhall.

News that Boldre will stay in NF East - and bring Sway with it from the west - has been greeted as a victory for people power by campaigning residents.

When the Boundary Commission suggested slicing Boldre off NF East and tacking it on to NF West to balance population figures, the idea was rejected by both MPs involved, by the local parish and district councils, and by vociferous locals. Nearly 100 letters of opposition were sent to the Boundary Commission.

The commission has announced that it now accepts that Boldre and Sway are tied historically, and both parishes have strong links with NF East.

Assistant Commissioner Ellis, who heard the inquiry in June, said: "Putting Boldre and Sway into East rather than West means that 1,222 more electors have to change constituency. It makes East's electorate 69,646 compared with West at 65,269.

"But the proposed siting of the two parishes in West provoked a deluge of representations from residents and institutions in the area, all complaining that Boldre and Sway should be conjoined to East.

"Many witnesses at the inquiry gave detailed evidence of the parishes' links with East. I was thoroughly convinced."

NF West MP Desmond Swayne said: "It would suit me to have Boldre but I honestly can't find any arguments to support it."

Dr Julian Lewis, MP for New Forest East, said: "We argued consistently that Sway, like Boldre, traditionally looked to the east and not to the west.

"I am delighted that the Assistant Commissioner realised that the commission made a mistake in its original recommendation, and I look forward to Sway joining us and restoring its historic links."