THE number of councillors in Cherwell is to be cut along with council ward boundaries and names changed under new recommendations being put forward to Parliament.

The number of councillors in the district should be lowered from 50 to 48 councillors, according to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

In its final recommendations, published last week, the commission proposed two fewer councillors and eight fewer wards, resulting in a total of 16 wards being represented by three councillors each.

Commission chairman Max Caller said: “We are extremely grateful to people across Cherwell who took the time and effort to send us their views. The commission considered every piece of evidence it received before finalising these recommendations.

“Across the district, we have sought to balance the views expressed to us by local people with the criteria we must apply when we are deciding on new electoral arrangements. As such, we believe these recommendations deliver electoral equality for voters as well as reflecting the identities of communities in Cherwell.”

The draft proposals, which follow a 10-week consultation launched in December will now be put forward to Parliament, which will create a draft order which brings into force the changes.

The new arrangements would then come into force at the council elections in 2016.

The commission’s recommendations are in full at lgbce.org.uk