Changes agreed over two Northumberland parish councils

Members agreed the outcome of two community governance reviews, relating to Longhoughton and Newton-by-the-Sea Parish Councils, at the full meeting of the county council on Wednesday November 6.

In Longhoughton, in line with a request from the parish council itself, there will still be 10 parish councillors, but instead of five for Longhoughton, three for Boulmer and two for Howick, there will now be six for the Longhoughton ward and two each for the Boulmer and Howick wards.

This is because Longhoughton village has ‘increased considerably in size and, therefore, needs more representation’.

The proposal was supported by the ward councillor, Wendy Pattison, while one response was received during the consultation, which actually proposed going further by having eight councillors for Longhoughton and one each for Boulmer and Howick or abolishing the wards altogether.

The council’s elections team did not support this, however, saying the original proposal was ‘a sensible and well-balanced approach’.

Meanwhile, in Newton-by-the-Sea, there will now be eight parish councillors instead of 10, as it has ‘become increasingly difficult to fill vacancies despite full advertising’.

There were no responses from members of the public to this consultation.