Tonbridge and Malling will have fewer councillors from next year following a review of ward boundaries.

After considering the 160 submissions it received during a public consultation that ended in December, the Local Government Boundary Commission has announced that from the May 2023 elections, there will be 10 fewer councillors - 44 instead of 54.

And there will also be five fewer wards - 19 instead of 24.

There will be one one-councillor ward, 11 two-councillor wards and seven three-councillor wards across the borough.

The boundaries of all the wards will be redrawn, none will stay the same, and many will also be re-named.

Among the changes, Cage Green ward will be re-named Cage Green and Angel and will encompass the area east of the High Street.

West Peckham parish will be placed in a ward with East Peckham, Mereworth and Wateringbury parishes.

The commission has taken into account the expected population growth up to 2027, by when it predicts the borough will have 106,828 voters.

The average number of voters for each of the 44 councillors will be 2,428.

It has devised the ward boundaries so that every seat will fall with in a 10% margin of that average, what it calls “good electoral equality.”

Professor Colin Mellors, the commission’s chairman, said: “We are very grateful to people in Tonbridge and Malling. We looked at all the views they gave us. They helped us improve our earlier proposals. We believe the new arrangements will guarantee electoral fairness while maintaining local ties.”

Tonbridge and Malling council leader Cllr Matt Boughton said: “I’d like to thank the commission for taking on board local feedback about these proposals. As a result, we will have a borough map which ensures better equality between the number of residents each councillor represents, while ensuring a more streamlined council.”

The commission’s proposals have to be officially agreed by Parliament before the changes take effect. Parliament cannot change the recommendations, it can only accept or refuse them.