Most council electoral ward boundaries in Bury are set to change at the next elections in May, 2022.
The Local Government Boundary Commission, the independent body that draws boundaries, reviewed Bury Council to make sure councillors will represent about the same number of electors.
They said that the new ward arrangements will help the council work effectively.
The commission has published its final recommendations for changes in Bury.
It says residents should continue to be represented by 51 councillors and the current situation will remain with 17 wards and three councillors per ward.
However most ward boundaries will change slightly .
Three wards have will be re-named as a result of ‘compelling community evidence’.
East becomes Bury East, Church ward becomes Bury West, and Radcliffe North will become Radcliffe North and Ainsworth.
During the consultation there was a suggestion that North Manor ward be renamed ‘Greenmount & Summerseat’ but that proposal was not supported by the commission.
Another proposal said Pilkington Park and Besses wards should be renamed ‘Whitefield East’ and ‘Whitefield West’, or ‘Whitefield Stand’ and ‘Whitefield
Besses’.
The consultee argued that ‘there is no such thing as a Pilkington Park and the Pilkington family have long gone’.
However, the commission said it had not been persuaded that these names would better reflect the geographical spread of communities in the area or that they are locally recognised.
Among the changes to boundaries are that Elton ward be extended to the south to include properties from Scholes Street and Melrose Avenue and that all electors from Barlow Fold and Blackford Bridge will now be in Unsworth ward.
Bury West will now contain the western side of Lowercroft Road as well as the recent Tudor Grange development at Spen Moor.
Professor Colin Mellors, chair of the commission, said: “We are very grateful to people in Bury.
“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.”
The Commission received 121 submissions from people and organisations to help decide the new wards.
Parliament now needs to agree the changes.
The new arrangements will then apply for the 2022 council elections at which all 51 seats on the council will be contested in an ‘all out’ election.
