Councillor numbers to be cut by 10% in shake-up
THE number of councillors in West Lancashire is to be cut by almost 10% under plans for a major restructure.
Proposals due to go before a full meeting of West Lancashire Borough Council would see a reduction from the current 54 councillors to 45.
Ward boundaries would be “significantly” changed if the plan is approved, with the total number cut from 25 to 15.
The changes would mean that all wards have either two or three councillors, ending the current situation in which four areas – Bickerstaffe, Halsall, Newburgh, and Rufford – each have one representative.
Those behind the proposal, which will be submitted to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) if approved at the full council meeting on Wednesday night, say the reduction will save around £43,500 per year based on the current basic allowance for each councillor of £4,842.
They say the reduction in numbers would bring the council into proportion with other authorities in Lancashire in terms of population per councillor.
The request for two member wards, rather than ensuring all have three representatives, is designed to “allow for more concise representation of the borough’s rural communities” rather than subsuming them into larger wards which cross parish and town boundaries.
The review was started in part by an approved motion from 2018 which resolved to review the council’s size, councillor numbers and ward boundaries and directly followed the LGBCE writing to the council’s chief executive in 2019 advising that a review of the borough would be undertaken as part of its new programme of periodic reviews of authorities which have not been reviewed for 12 or more years.
In February 2020, the council created the Electoral Review Working Group to facilitate the work required to comply with its obligations as part of the Electoral Review of West Lancashire.
The working group met regularly between May 2020 and January 2021 to consider and draft a ‘Council Size Submission’ document to be submitted to the LGBCE, marking the end of the Preliminary Period of the Electoral Review of West Lancashire.
The draft has been completed in order to be presented to the full council meeting on February 24, despite not receiving unanimous backing from the working group members.
The three Labour members – Cllrs Gareth Dowling, Ian Moran and Adam Yates all voted for the reduction to 45 councillors, while Cllrs Iain Ashcroft and David Westley of the Conservatives and Our West Lancashire’s Cllr Gordon Johnson all voted against.
As there was an equal number for and against, Cllr Moran was given the casting vote as chairman.
The LGBCE is due to meet in March to consider the submitted proposals but will also hear from those made by any political groups on the council.
The next phase of the review is scheduled to begin in late May and will consist of a 10 week consultation during which the council, political groups and any other interested parties can submit ward boundary proposals.
Following completion of this phase the LGBCE will then consider all submitted proposals and produce Draft Recommendations for Warding Arrangements which will then be put to public consultation.
The draft submission to LGBCE, the council states: “A reduction to 45 members serving a minimum of 15 Wards (down from the current 25) would mean members representing more residents within larger wards than they presently are.
“Within the geography of West Lancashire, whilst this would increase the size of wards, particularly in the rural areas of the borough, the proposed reduction to 45 would be manageable coupled with the council’s request to retain some two member wards.
“A greater reduction would translate to overly large wards covering several distinct communities which would dilute their democratic representation and make the community leadership role of members more difficult”