PLANS are under way to slash the number of councillors in Pendle by a third in a bid to save cash.

The number of elections could also be cut as the council adapts to shrinking resources and to the transfer of services to town and parish councils.

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At a meeting, councillors voted in favour of carrying out an electoral review into the proposals which could see the borough boundaries redrawn.

The council has 49 representatives — 21 Conservative, 17 Labour, 10 Liberal Democrats and one BNP — who could be reduced by 15.

Cllr Joe Cooney (Conservative) said the proposal does not go far enough.

He said: “The plans are that we are aiming to reduce by at least one third. We have got 49 which is far too many so we are going to cut it and we have to redraw the boundaries. It is obvious the council is getting smaller.

"We have passed a lot of things over to town and parish councils. We have fewer staff than we had before and if I was a staff member and every year you are seeing colleagues losing their jobs and you still have 49 councillors I would not be happy.”

He said rather than electing a third of the councillors at a time, he would like to see one election every four years.

The plan would save money on expenses, with each councillor paid £3,000 a year.

“Pendle is completely covered by town and parish councils. It is about quality not quantity,” he said.

Cllr Brian Newman (Liberal Democrats) agreed the council does not have the same work it used to have.

“A lot of work has gone out to parish councils so there are just too many — we can do it with a lot less,” he said.

Cllr Asjad Mahmood said the Labour group had asked the council to look into the proposals. He said: “It is in the early stages and will come before the full council. We are coming under increasing pressure from the government with all the cuts nationally and are seeing reductions in staff numbers.”

He said there are pros and cons — and depending on the outcome of the boundary review, councillors could oversee a larger ward.

When the review is complete it will come before the full council in October. If passed, the proposals will be sent to the Electoral Commission who will be responsible for redrawing the boundaries.