A CONTROVERSIAL plan to cut the number of councillors in Flintshire has met fierce opposition.

Community leaders voted against proposals to shake-up the county’s electoral boundaries and the council will now conduct a review of the dividing lines between town and community councils.

The draft proposals had been put forward by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales and would see Flintshire’s county councillors cut from 70 to 60.

But during a heated meeting of the full council yesterday, councillors decided to conduct the review which could force a temporary halt to the boundary changes.

Cllr Aaron Shotton, who proposed the motion, said if councillors began to disagree over the course of action it could reduce the strength the council had in opposing the plans.

He said: “There is a need for a community review.

“It is the only way to come to a satisfactory conclusion.”

If given the green light the commission would halve the number of councillors in

Flint, the town’s Coleshill ward would be axed and its voters transferred to Bagillt with the remaining three wards in Flint being combined to make one big ward.

Dozens of villages across the county would also be thrown together.

Cllr Peter Pemberton said: “I feel we ought to go back to the Welsh Assembly and say that this is not acceptable. Do they want local authorities to survive or are they trying to kill off local democracy?”

The vote to pass the community review motion was passed by 39 votes to seven, with one abstention.

Once Flintshire’s review is submitted to the commission, it will then be passed on to the Welsh Assembly government with the final decision resting with Alyn and Deeside AM Carl Sargeant, the minister for social justice and local government.