Bridgend Council is set to authorise a review of Coity Higher Community Council (pdf).
While the boundaries and number of councillors for local authority wards are a matter for the all-Wales Local Government Boundary Commission, Bridgend Council has responsibility when it comes to community councils.
A formal request was made to Bridgend Council in November 2020 (pdf) due to an increase in population in the Coity ward as a result of the Parc Derwen, Gerddi Castell and Ffordd Cadfan developments.
At the moment, the three wards that makeup Coity Higher Community Council are arranged like this:
- Coity (Electors: 3,566) – 2 councillors (1,783 electors per councillor).
- Litchard (Electors: 2,172) – 5 councillors (434 electors per councillor).
- Pendre (Electors: 1,777) – 4 members (444 electors per councillor).
The draft proposal (pdf) is for this to be changed to:
- Coity – 5 councillors (713 electors per councillor).
- Litchard – 4 councillors (543 electors per councillor).
- Pendre – 4 members (444 electors per councillor).
Overall, the number of members on the community council would increase from 11 to 13. The number of councillors will be redistributed to reflect population changes in each ward. Pendre and Litchard would still be slightly over-represented, but not as much as they are now.
If the full meeting of Bridgend Council agrees later this week, a public consultation process will begin almost immediately. A final proposal is set to be ready by the end of February 2022.
The report also reveals that Bridgend Council will be undertaking a full review of community council boundaries in 2022 (presumably after the local elections), though any changes wouldn’t come into effect until 2027 – hence the urgency with this review.
