Adding more councillors will create 'fairness'

Essex County Council is based on Market Road in Chelmsford

Increasing the number of councillors at a local authority by three would create more fairness in elections, a review found.

The Local Government Boundary Commission - which is an independent body that sets voting areas - said Essex County Council should increase its elected officials from 75 to 78.

It published its final recommendations for changes in Essex and said there should be 78 councillors and most ward boundaries should change, the Local Democracy Reporting Service wrote.

Colin Mellors, chair of the commission, said: “We believe the new arrangements will deliver electoral fairness while maintaining local ties."

He added: "We are very grateful to people in Essex.

"We looked at all the views they gave us. They helped us improve our earlier proposals."