Eight county councillors to be cut (From Bucks Free Press)

Eight county councillors to be cut

9:00am Wednesday 18th January 2012 in Risborough By James Nadal

EIGHT councillors will be cut from Buckinghamshire County Council at the next election if newly released plans are approved by Parliament.

There will be 49 Buckinghamshire County Councillors after the 2013 elections if the recommendations are accepted.

The drop, by eight, was proposed by The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England before a 12-week public consultation.

After reviewing the public's comments the commission has now confirmed its proposal this week, which includes a pattern of 49 single-member electoral divisions across Bucks.

Max Caller, chair of the commission, said: “We’re extremely grateful to the people of Buckinghamshire who took the time and effort to send us their views.

“The commission considered every piece of evidence it received before finalising these recommendations.

“While our final recommendations are still broadly based on the county council’s own proposals, we have made some changes to the draft recommendations put forward in July in response to the views submitted to us during the consultation.

“In Wycombe District, we’ve amended the boundary between the Marlow division and the Flackwell Heath, Little Marlow & Marlow South-East division as a result of a proposal put to us by Marlow Town Council.

“Overall, our recommendations for Buckinghamshire will deliver electoral equality for voters across the county where the value of your vote is similar regardless of where you live in the county. “We also believe that our final recommendations reflect, as far as possible, the identities and interests of local communities across Buckinghamshire.”

The proposed new arrangements must now be implemented by Parliament.

A draft Order – the legal document which brings into force the recommendations – will be laid in Parliament in the next few months.