Argyll and Bute Council is set to officially oppose plans for the area to have fewer councillors under proposals to re-draw ward boundaries.
In a letter to the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland, the authority’s executive director Douglas Hendry also expressed concerns about the consultation the commission undertook with the authority during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The commission has proposed to re-draw some of the boundaries in the area’s council wards, although the four administrative areas would remain unchanged.
However, the Helensburgh and Lomond area would go from ten councillors to nine, while Bute and Cowal would see its numbers shrink from nine to eight.
The matter was discussed at a meeting of the full council in September and is on the agenda for community planning groups this month.
Mr Hendry said in the letter to the commission that the council accepted proposals for the wards where councillor numbers would not change -Cowal, Dunoon, Lomond North, and Mid Argyll.
But he added: “The council are disappointed that the commission’s starting point, in a similar vein to the fifth review that was undertaken in 2016, is to recommend a reduction in councillor numbers for the Argyll and Bute area.
“In line with the council’s response at that time, the council objects to the proposals in that they diminish the overall electoral accountability, while failing to take into account material factors in relation to electoral parity, impact of demographic issues such as an ageing population and social and economic deprivation, and the consequent requirement for more effective electoral representation these factors create.
“On this basis, the council rejects any reduction in the overall number of councillors for Argyll and Bute.”
The Boundary Commission is now set to conduct a public consultation on the plans before submitting its final proposals to the Scottish Government, which it anticipates doing in May for implementation a year later.
Mr Hendry added: “In addition, and although the council recognises it may not directly relate to the commission’s remit, the council considers that it is a matter of concern that the public consultation is being undertaken during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Potentially further restrictions are being applied for the protection of the public, which could adversely impact the public consultation process and the work of the commission overall.”
The commission said in a paper outlining its proposals: “We decide the number of councillors for each council by placing it into a category with similar councils.
“Argyll and Bute Council is grouped with other more rural council areas with below average levels of deprivation, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, with a ratio of electors per councillor of 2,800.
“We are aware that a large change of councillor numbers in a council area can be disruptive, therefore our methodology also incorporates a 10% change rule.
“This means that we will not normally propose increasing or decreasing the total number of councillors in a council area by more or less than 10% as an immediate consequence of the Islands Reviews.”
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