Sutton could find itself with two county councillors – but having to share them with Coveney, Little Downham, Haddenham, Mepal, Stretham, Little Thetford, Wentworth, Wilburton, Witcham and Witchford.  The new county ‘division’ (area served by a county councillor) would be called Littleport West.

That’s the proposal from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which has opened a consultation on revisions to Cambridgeshire County Council.  Overall, the number of county councillors in Cambridgeshire would be reduced from 69 to 61.

The Boundary Commission comments: “We acknowledge that this division covers a large geographic area owing to the sparsely populated nature of the parishes that make up the division. However, we consider that our proposed division will reflect community identities and not divide them between divisions.”

The consultation opens today, and closes on Monday 6 July, and local residents are invited to comment on the proposals.  The Commission aims to publish final recommendations in September. Subject to parliamentary scrutiny, the new electoral arrangements should come into effect in time for the next county council elections in 2017.

The Commission’s report on its draft recommendations can be found here. Interactive maps of the proposals are available here where residents can also make comments or even draw alternative boundaries.