CHANGES TO COUNCIL ward boundaries in Moray could see some residents finding themselves in new wards – but the number of councillors on the local authority will remain the same.
Proposals for changes to the structure of Councils are currently being considered by the Local Boundary Commission for Scotland, who last week announced the start of a 12-week public consultation over the changes.
Original proposals from the Commission had suggested that Moray should reduce from 26 to 25 councillors – however, that was dropped in the plans after representations from Moray Council and Community Councils.
Tweaks to the boundaries are, however, still being proposed with the full details of those for Moray current available in a Guidance Booklet that can be downloaded, along with details on how the public can have their say on the proposals.
Changes being proposed in Moray include adoption of a suggestion from Moray Council for boundary changes at Spynie Hospital and Burnside Cottages in Elgin along with Westerton Cottages by Arradoul. Three wards – Speyside Glenlivet, Keith and Cullen and Forres – would remain unchanged under the proposals.
Commission Chairman Ronnie Hinds said: “Consultation is a vital part of our work and having completed our consultation with councils, and amended a number of our proposals in the light of these, we now want to hear from local residents, community groups and organisations.
“We have a statutory obligation to conduct reviews and we are required to ensure that the number of electors per councillor in each ward in a council area is as nearly as may be the same – but subject to that we also need to take account of local ties and the public are best placed to tell us about these.
“We look forward to positive engagement with communities across Scotland over the next 12 weeks and have launched our consultation portal which will allow people to see our proposals and submit their comments to us online including suggested revisions to the maps setting out ward boundaries.
“Paper copies of our proposals are available at display points across council areas.”