West Northamptonshire Council could see reduction in councillors as ward changes are published

The number of West Northamptonshire councillors could be cut by nearly a fifth if proposals get the go-ahead.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) has recommended West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) should be cut to 76 members, down from the current 93.

The LGBCE is reviewing WNC’s ward boundaries with the hope that each councillor will represent roughly the same number of people and that they can be effective.

A consultation, which opened on Tuesday, will close on Monday, May 15. Final recommendations will be made in August ahead of elections in 2025.

The last electoral review for the area took place in 2013 and the current ward boundaries are based on arrangements made for the former Northamptonshire County Council.

WNC’s councillors are currently organised into 31 wards.

The new recommendations suggest WNC should have 35 wards. They would be broken up into seven one-councillor wards, 15 two-councillor wards and 13 three-councillor wards.

Previous recommendations had suggested WNC should have 77 councillors but that has been sliced by one.

The LGBCE has also said there should be changes to parish electoral arrangements in Boughton, Daventry, Hackleton, Kingsthorpe and Northampton.

Coun Suresh Patel, the chairman of WNC’s democracy standards committee and local boundary review working group, said: “We want the best outcome possible for West Northamptonshire from the commission’s review so I would ask everyone to look at the plans and ensure their views help to shape the best outcome for our area.”

To view the LGBCE’s proposals, visit its website at: https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/36573