The ambitions of a council to expand its ranks of politicians by 25% has been rejected.

Canterbury City Council voted in July to recommend its cohort of 39 councillors increase to 49 at the next election.

However, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which has the final say on such decisions, has thwarted the plans by saying the authority should stick with its current numbers.

Some say keeping the council smaller means there is “£100,000 more to invest in frontline services” because of the savings made - but those who backed the increase have slated the rejection as “short-sighted”.

In July members of the ruling Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition supported the move, arguing it would spread the workload more evenly among councillors and improve representation.

However, the council’s opposition Conservative group opposed the plans, accusing it of being a “burden on the taxpayer”.

Cllr Dan Watkins (Con) argued when the issue first came to council that the increase to 49 members would cost an extra £100,000 a year through councillor allowances, inflation, National Insurance contributions and extra officer time.

He has now told KentOnline he is “really pleased” at the Boundary Commission’s decision.

“That extra £100,000 that it would have cost to have 10 extra councillors - that wasn’t going to come from government, that was going to come from council tax that residents pay,” he said.

“I think 39 is the right number and basically means that we’ve got £100,000 more to invest in frontline services like bin collections and housing, rather than spending it on more councillors.”

The authority previously had 50 members, but was reduced down to its current 39 at the 2015 local elections.

Cllr Watkins argues the widespread use of social media “means you can do the job as a councillor more effectively than many used to be able to”, and easily communicate with residents.

“I just don’t feel we need to be taking more money out of budgets to pay for more councillors,” he added.

However, council leader Alan Baldock does not buy the argument, and says being a councillor is “certainly not about just hiding behind a website and filling in a few forms”.

Being a councillor “means actually being in their ward, talking to people, working with people, being their champion, and in that you can’t hide behind a website or social media”, he said.

CCC said in its submission to the commission that the district’s electorate of 108,000 is set to grow to about 114,000 by 2029.

“In making our submissions we were careful and pragmatic in choosing to increase the number of councillors - mindful that we wanted to make sure that everyone in our district has good representation not only now but in the years to come when this decision is to be implemented,” Cllr Baldock explained.

The increase to 49 would have taken effect from the next local elections in May 2027.

“We have no doubt that this decision will affect the representation that our local residents have over the years to come,” Cllr Baldock continued.

“This decision that’s made today will be affecting residents for many years to come, 10 years probably in the future, and that’s why it’s so short-sighted really.”

The Boundary Commission is also currently holding a consultation for the public to have their say on ward boundaries, which will run until Monday, December 4.