Do West county borders make it hard to 'belong'?

The county borders of the West of England are clear on the map. But how much do they mean when areas rub up against each other?

For example, if you live in Kingswood, you pay council tax to South Gloucestershire Council, but may well describe yourself as a Bristolian. Do people in Keynsham say they live "near Bath" or "near Bristol"? And do people born and raised in Taunton or Shepton Mallet consider the Chew Valley or Clevedon "proper" Somerset?

Plenty of places in the West have found themselves in different counties as borders have moved. And many people shudder if you mention the word Avon, the now-defunct authority that used to cover Bristol, Bath and parts of Somerset and Gloucestershire.

So how did the county borders we have today come about, and how does identity work if you live close to the borders?

Around Radstock, nine miles (14 km) south-west of Bath, the answer is not always clear.

The town has been part of several different administrative areas in recent decades. Historically, in Somerset, it became part of the Wansdyke district of Avon in 1974 before moving into Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) when Avon was abolished in 1996.

Then, in 2024, Radstock found itself in a new parliamentary constituency, leaving North East Somerset to become part of Frome and East Somerset.

For Radstock's mayor, councillor Chris Dando, living on the edge of so many boundaries means the town often has to fight to make its voice heard.

"I used to say I lived in Avon because it annoyed lots of people," he joked.

"But I think BANES is a totally artificial construct.

"If I'm talking to people from overseas, I say I'm from Bath because more people have heard of it. If someone knows where Somerset is, then I say that."

Not everyone agrees that newer council areas should define where people come from.

Adam Thomas, a bus driver from Bishops Lydeard, said there should be no confusion about Somerset's boundaries.

"North Somerset and BANES are not counties, they are local authorities," he said.

"The yardstick doesn't move any further than the historic counties. They were never abolished.

"Whether you're from Portishead or Porlock, you are all part of the county of Somerset."

Dando believes the latest parliamentary changes have created new challenges.

"The difficulty of the parliamentary boundaries is that we have no relationship to Frome and villages in east Somerset whatsoever," he said.

Parliamentary boundaries are used to divide the country into constituencies and are drawn by the independent Boundary Commission.

Recent changes have reshaped the political map of the West, creating constituencies including Wells and the Mendip Hills, Bristol Central, North East Somerset and Hanham, North Cotswolds and South Cotswolds.

The region has already experienced significant boundary changes in the past.

In 1974, Avon brought Bristol, Bath and parts of Somerset and Gloucestershire together under a single county council. The authority was abolished in 1996 and replaced by Bristol City, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset councils.

Yet despite disappearing three decades ago, Avon still lingers in everyday life.

Ian Boulton, co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council, said the county remains a familiar reference point, even if its legacy can be confusing.

"Avon is still a thing," he said.

"Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership serves a completely different area to Avon and Somerset Police, and boundaries don't reflect the wards or constituencies."

But Boulton believes people's strongest connections are rooted closer to home.

"One thing we've worked out is that people in South Gloucestershire aren't necessarily aligned to South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire or Bristol," he said.

"They're more aligned to Staple Hill, Hanham, Thornbury or their local community."

That attachment to local places rather than official boundaries is nothing new, according to Gloucestershire-based historian Dr Louise Ryland-Epton, who has studied boundaries in Wiltshire.

"We might think that our village, our community, has been here forever, but it might have completely different boundaries to where we are now," she said.

"A lot of what we know today as our boundaries are down to late Victorian efforts to try and make sense and sort of rationalise everything.

"Communities would try and walk around the boundaries of their place to establish them, this is our bit, this is your bit kind of thing."

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