Mansfield Council to reduce councillor numbers

The number of councillors at Mansfield District Council is being reduced in a bid to save money.

Residents will vote for 36 councillors at next year's local elections - 10 fewer than at the moment.

Ward boundaries have been changed and each will have one representative, instead of two or three.

The move will save about £80,000 a year in costs, said Barry Answer, leader of the Mansfield Independent Forum - the largest group on the council.

Councillor Answer said: "We contacted the Boundary Commission about this and started discussions about 18 months ago.

"We've had confirmation from the commission and will go ahead from next year."

He said the decision was not directly linked to the government's spending cuts, but was made at the height of the global financial crisis to help reduce costs.