The leader of Douglas Council says reducing the number of wards, and their membership, will provide a more ‘entrepreneurial’ model of local government.
Plans are underway to lose two wards bringing the total number to four and to reduce membership to 12.
The council is awaiting the outcome of a public enquiry by the Department of Infrastructure into the decision – it will report on December 13th.
If approved the new model of local government in Douglas will be in effect from 2020.
David Christian says: “We were also conscious that in the current era of global awareness, people do not identify so strongly with the area in which they live, and certainly not when the somewhat archaic ward name means little, if anything, to them.
“People in the Isle of Man are, though, generally aware of which House of Keys constituency they live in.
“It was against this background that the council resolved to reduce its membership by adopting the four revised House of Keys constituencies as wards with three members elected to represent each of them with effect from the 2020 local election.”
