The leader of Preston City Council has tabled his alternative vision for how the city’s political boundaries should be re-drawn.

Preston is likely to see a shake-up of the number of councillors it elects as the Boundary Commission says the city council has too many councillors.

Nine councillors will go in the 2019 local elections if the new boundaries are agreed.

Council officers have tabled their proposal for a new ward structure in the city which includes wards like Moor Park disappearing.

However, Labour leader councillor Peter Rankin has tabled an amendment to the debate at a council meeting on Thursday (18 May) where the proposals are to be discussed.

Councillor Rankin and the Labour group want to see wards like Moor Park kept, with different boundaries.

He wants to see an East Fulwood ward and a West Fulwood and Tulketh ward created.

A large West Preston ward is also created including Lea and parts of Savick and Larches.

The largest ward would be Ingol and Cottam with 6,740 voters – some 473 voters above average.

Read more: What the local election results mean for Preston

Cllr Rankin’s document states: “Rather than starting from east or west, this scheme has been worked out taking the largest existing wards as building-blocks and then working round in a clockwise direction.

“A strenuous attempt has been made to avoid having an kind of ‘remainder’ ward, which is only too easy in this kind of exercise.

“The county council divisional boundaries have not been particularly followed, as the Commission advised us to disregard them; however, in some places they happen to coincide, as a ‘happy coincidence’.”

The wards proposed by councillor Rankin would be:
Rural North
Rural East
Brookfield
Ribbleton
St Matthew’s
Ribble
Deepdale
City
East Fulwood
Sharoe Green
Moor Park
Greyfriars
West Fulwood & Tulketh
Ashton
West Preston
Ingol and Cottam

You can view councillor Rankin’s full proposal on the city council website.

What do you think of councillor Rankin’s proposal? Let us know in the comments below