Today, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (“LGBCE”) has said that as a part of its review that the number of councillors should remain unchanged at 39 and not increase to 49 as Lab/Libs had agreed at full council in July.
The Conservative Group submitted a report as a part of the consultation saying that given greater digitisation and automation, there is little evidence that 10 more councillors would be required and that this would place too great a burden on public finances.
An increase by 10 councillors would have been at a cost to local taxpayers of around £100,000 per year from 2027: money better spent on bin services, keeping the district clean, enforcement, housing and support for residents.
The Conservative Group on CCC will keep pushing for better value and better services for taxpayers and all residents.
The next stage of the review will look at the ward boundaries. If you have a view on this, please let us know.
See https://www.lgbce.org.uk/news/press-release/have-your-say-new-political-map-canterbury-city-council?fbclid=IwAR18vWrB28Tk1aVdSXAuo5OmvaZHdK53BC3vrg8U2Ztvb4KC7acmrUf21PQ for the LGBCE review.
See https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/proposal-to-up-councillors-by-25-agreed-290764/ for a local newspaper article, where only the Conservative Group voted against increasing the burden on taxpayers and against adding an extra 10 councillors in 2027.
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