The number of councillors at Stafford Borough Council is to be reduced by nearly a third.
The Local Government Boundary Commission has revealed that the council will in future have 40 members – 19 fewer members than it presently has. Now work is being carried out to redraw boundaries for the new wards that councillors will represent following the borough elections in 2015.
Leader of the Borough Council, Mike Heenan, said: “Over recent years the authority has reduced in size and the number of services it delivers – so we need a council which reflects those changes but still gives value for money to the residents and businesses it serves.”
The Borough Council has had 59 councillors since 2003, serving 26 wards in Stafford, Stone, and villages across the area. Proposed ward boundaries are expected to be published in March for a public consultation before the final map goes before Parliament to be confirmed.
Stafford Borough has a population of more than 130,000 and is the largest in terms of geographical size, and people that it serves, of all the district councils in the county. Following a previous review in 2003 the number of councillors was reduced by one – from 60 to 59 members.
Members of the public have until 7th January 2014 to give their views to the Boundary Commission on what the new wards should look like. Further information on the review and interactive maps of the existing wards can be found at consultation.lgbce.org.uk and www.lgbce.org.uk
All current councillors can be found at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/DemServCouncillors
