A Gloucestershire Map with New Meaning: Changing to Unitary Authorities

For the vast majority, the meandering borders of a moderately sized county in the west of England mean very little, but what happens with surprising regularity; the shifting and rearrangement of political borders is now coming to Gloucestershire. Likely finalising in 2027, Gloucestershire is heading down the road of Unitary Authorities (UA's) where six districts (Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester and Cheltenham), created in 1974 after the Local Government Act of 1972, will be dissolved in favour of bigger geographic areas, driven by perceived and expected economies of scale. Gloucestershire is going back to the drawing board after 50 odd years, like humanity is going back to the moon. The decision on what exactly to do is not made up yet, from what I read it is a split decision between a single unitary authority for the whole county or an approximate north / south divide of two UA's.

Without knowing anything near enough of all the inevitable 1000's of considerations and stakeholders involved, common sense suggests the single UA would be preferable. For one, any border or dividing line often creates problems as well as solving them. Having no divisional border would seem to be a solution that side-steps self inflicted trouble and inevitably avoids a lot of huffing and puffing of exactly where to put the line in the first place. If I put my cartography hat on though, a divided county makes for a prettier map! My Gloucestershire map with the districts presented sells 100 times better than the county as a whole without them.

The current six districts, four large rural ones and two relatively small urban areas, don't seem to mean much to most people. I eavesdrop on many conversations at events and markets as people pour over my Gloucestershire map, zeroing in on their home, often commenting on not realising how big somewhere is or the distance from somewhere to somewhere else. Common amongst these discussions is the districts. Their existence, their size and shapes (particularly the peculiarities of Tewkesbury district as it snakes around Cheltenham). This is all great, a map should be educational and informative.

To most though, even within Gloucestershire, the impending changes mean very little beyond the few energised stakeholders who might see their bin collection day change, children's school opportunities shift or simply which reputationally superior or inferior neighbours you may now be lumped in with. While certain small esoteric facets of life might affect a certain amount of the population, as a map maker on the one hand I'm taking a more holistic view of the situation, a cartographic overview if you like and on the other my own unique perspective.

The second map I ever made was of Gloucestershire. It's where I live and the six distinct areas (seven if you include South Gloucestershire and ceremonial county status) are nicely represented on my Gloucestershire map in different complementary colours. I made that map in 2019, so it's been around for a little while now, but what does the impending change in borders mean for my map? Simply put I think it gives it new meaning, a new historical status. My maps are snap shots in time of what a geographic area was like at the time of making it (no different from most maps) and things can change very quickly here on Earth*. Old, antique or historical maps show how a place used to be, perhaps before the Romans invaded, before railways and canals were built or Bristol got so big or that extra housing estate was built on the edge of town. Change makes maps historically, socially and culturally interesting and significant and I suppose my map of Gloucestershire grabs a bigger piece of that 'interest' now too; Gloucestershire before the Unitary Authority change of 2027. For those who have a copy hanging on their wall the map should take on more meaning for them. It should invoke more questions and intrigue. For someone who grew up with the districts in place and not known anything else, a new generation will grow up with a different Gloucestershire and for children growing up in houses where the map is hanging they can be told that 'this is what Gloucestershire was like when mummy or daddy grew up' From a commercial point of view it won't have any impact. I'm certainly going to continue to sell the 2019 map, I think there will be an increasingly historically minded market for it and I will be releasing a new and improved 2nd edition of the artwork later this year. However, I will also make a new Gloucestershire map, one with its new borders, whatever they end up being, which will reflect the new reality, for however long that lasts. Whatever is decided, I expect about another 50 years.

*I suspect a map of the moon made today would look the same as one made in the 1500's or 1950's, technology of the time notwithstanding. A ping pong sized meteorite hits every 1 km sq of the moon once every thousand years. That's not going to change the map of the moon very quickly, but we might. I wrote in a school notebook in the 90's that the "lunar environment" would become much more akin to other places on Earth, much more within reach of humanity, like the rainforest, desert, polar regions or tropics. An envirnonment within humanity's sphere of influence (excuse the pun). As humanity reaches out back to the lunar surface in the coming years, if plans come to fruition, roads, bases, buildings and human made scars will start to appear.