Councillors at local authority in Cumbria agree to boundary review

Councillors at Copeland Borough Council have agreed to ask the Local Government Boundary Commission to review its boundaries.

The commission will examine the size, geography and population of Copeland and make recommendations on how many councillors in each ward are needed to effectively govern it.

The local authority said it had been talking to the commission since the elections earlier this year to see if a review was possible.

“The commission has now said they have the capacity to conduct the review in time for the 2019 local elections,” Copeland said.

A decision to formally submit the request was made at a full council meeting last week.

The Commission’s review is likely to begin in October 2016, and would finish between January and October 2018.

The chair and chief executive of the commission will visit Copeland for discussions with senior staff and the Mayor.

Mayor Mike Starkie said: “I am delighted we are able to move this forward, as it’s something we’ve been looking at since I came into office.

"The boundary commission will recommend the appropriate number of councillors and it may be that that offers us a saving too, which would be a bonus. Either way, a review is well overdue and I look forward to working with the commission to help the process go smoothly.”