Changes planned for city council make-up

Proposals to change City of York council's boundaries, ward layout and councillor numbers have been unveiled.

As part of plans, drawn up by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE), the city would gain one additional councillor and one extra ward meaning there would be 48 councillors representing 22 wards.

Electoral reviews of councils are carried out to reflect population and demographic changes in their areas to ensure each councillor represents roughly the same number of voters.

York residents have been invited to have their say on the proposals which have been drawn up as part of an ongoing electoral review which was launched last year.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the number of electors is set to go up from 156,099 in 2025 to 170,031 by 2031.

A report on the proposals stated the commission felt 48 councillors offered the best balance for the council.

Labour had proposed increasing the number of councillors to 53 and the Liberal Democrats called for the total to be kept at 47.

However, Conservative members have said the number should be cut to 41 and Restore Britain councillor Mark Warters, when an independent, called for a reduction to 25.

As part of the proposals, most of the council's boundaries would change, with only three set to stay the same.

The draft recommendations propose ten wards of three councillors, six wards of two councillors and six single councillor wards.

LGBCE chair Bev Smith said: "We have drawn up proposals for new wards and want to make sure they truly reflect local communities."

The LGBCE is set to unveil its final proposals in September following the public consultation which closes on 6 July.

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