LAUNCESTON town councillors expressed their disappointment Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor Jade Farrington will not stand for the role again, as the Local Government Boundary Commission pushes forward with proposals to reduce the number of county councillors from 123 to 87.

At last week’s meeting of the town council, with Cllr Farrington saying she felt it was a ‘cost reducing exercise’ mayor Margaret Young described it as ‘governance on the cheap’.

The electoral review looks to create equality in ward sizes but will see a decrease in the number of Cornwall Councillors from 123 to 87.

Cllr Farrington was asked to give her opinion on the proposals by Cllr Jessica Williams.

She said: “Cornwall Council as a whole were opposed to this. Currently it is hard to touch on every topic and spearhead every idea we have but with larger ward sizes it will be almost impossible. With 123 councillors you have a reasonable spread but going down to 87 with increased ward sizes it will make it more than a full time role — it will end up that only the financially independent, retired or those with a spouse to support them will be able to stand.

“At the moment it is very tough but I can balance it with other responsibilities to support that income, but with a larger area comes a more diverse range of issues and communities and it will be impossible to visit each and every one — the travel time alone will add pressure.

“Due to this I wont be re-standing. It will be a shame for Cornwall I think, having fewer people to sit on committees and sharing the workload, things will get missed and it won’t be the same. Again, it is a great shame but this is what we’ve got.”

Cllr John Conway said it was troubling to hear Cllr Farrington would not re-stand as he believed she had ‘done a great job for the town’.

He said: “Can we make sure that salary is sufficient so someone like you would be able to continue? We don’t want retired people etc to represent us, we need younger people on the council with a vision in life. I am very sorry you feel you can’t continue and I hope you will reconsider as you have worked hard for this town and we appreciate it.”

Cllr Farrington thanked Cllr Conway but said unfortunately as this was a cost reducing exercise she believed it was unlikely the salary would be increased.

Mayor Cllr Margaret Young added: “It is governance on the cheap.”

The position of the boundary was then discussed.

Currently there are five wards in the Launceston Community Network: Stoke Climsland, Launceston South, Launceston Central, Launceston North and North Petherwin, and Altarnun.

The boundary commission’s proposals are to reduce this to three; Launceston North and North Petherwin, Launceston South and Altarnun and Stoke Climsland — which will run from Stoke Climsland almost to Bodmin, stopping just before Blisland.

The latest proposals follow on from a consultation where towns were able to submit their own suggestions.

The aim of the LGBCE’s electoral review is to recommend division boundaries that mean each councillor represents approximately the same number of voters.

The town council raised concerns over the proposal of a north/south split in the town as new homes currently being built in the south ward would result in unevenness further down the line.

The proposal states a good pattern of divisions should ‘be based on strong, identifiable boundaries’. Cllr Rob Tremain suggested the River Kensey, which runs through the town would be a ‘good strong boundary’.

He said: “According to my rudimentary math, although it would add around 235 heads to the south ward it will be identifiable as it is a natural, strong feature.”

Cllr Jane Nancarrow agreed. She said: “I think that’s a good idea. It is a natural boundary like they suggest — it is ideal.”

Cllr John Conway said although he ‘accepted the principal’ that the River Kensey would make a good boundary ‘from a practical view making Launceston South bigger to start with will only be making trouble down the line’.

The council voted on the proposal to suggest the River Kensey be made the boundary. Although the vote was lost, mayor Cllr Margaret Young said: “It is a logical suggestion though.”

Cllr Conway added that ‘just because we have rejected the proposal doesn’t mean we reject the idea’ and suggested they discuss ‘something along those lines’ during the next full council meeting.

Cllr Young said as the deadline for submissions wasn’t until September the council should take the suggestion to the next meeting for further discussion.

For more information and to view the maps and full proposals, visit the website www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections/electoral-review-of-cornwall-council-2016-18