Number of district councillors in Mid Sussex could be cut

The review by the Local Government Boundary Commission is required by law and will be the first in almost 20 years.

It will make recommendations to Parliament not only about the number of councillors needed but also the number of wards, their boundaries and their names.

The first step is for the local authority to submit its own suggestions regarding numbers, before a public consultation is launched in March.

At a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (January 27), members approved the submission, which suggested that at least 48 councillors were needed.

Leader Jonathan Ash-Edwards called it a ‘modest reduction’ – but not everyone agreed with him.

Anne Eves (Green, Burgess Hill – Leylands) described it as ‘quite a sizable’ change, given that 11 per cent of councillors could be scrapped.

She was also concerned about the impact any ward changes would have on parish councils.

The submission was based on a number of criteria, such as how many councillors were needed to carry out statutory work and fill all roles on committees and in the community.

Population forecasts were also considered – and this was where another concern was raised.

According to the data produced by the council, Crawley Down and Turners Hill ward, which is represented by Ian Gibson (Ind), will gain 271 new homes over the next six years but is expected to have 136 fewer voters.

Alison Bennett (Lib Dem, Hurstpierpoint & Downs) described this as an ‘anomoly’.

But, after taking officers’ advice, Mr Ash-Edwards said the number of voters per household was going down in some areas as demographics – such as adult children leaving home – changed.

He added: “That trend is having a greater impact on the total numbers than the number of new dwellings coming on stream.”

There were calls from some for the submission to be delayed while the council’s own governance review, which is expected to be ready in March, was conducted.

Mr Ash-Edwards, though, pointed out that the submission was due on Friday (January 29) and the council would ‘fail at the first hurdle’ if it missed that deadline.

He added: “It’s important we put submissions forward and we do take part in the process fully.

“Any changes that come about as a result of the governance review would clearly need to be provided to the Boundary Commission and updated so they can take account of these.”

The commission will publish its draft recommendations in July.

Following a public consultation from August to October, the final recommendations will be published in January 2022.