Bristol City Council could soon have six more members to reflect the growth in population.
Seventy councillors currently represent different parts of Bristol, but their workloads are increasingly stretched.
Tim O’Gara, the council’s head of legal and democratic services, has produced a report for the Local Government Boundary Commission England suggesting the rise in time for the local elections in May 2028.
The report said: “In a diverse city like Bristol, the range of issues that are raised with elected councillors is wide-ranging, often very complex and touching on multiple areas of the council’s business. “Casework has increased dramatically especially due to emails and social media. Councillors report there is never enough time for emails as they receive up to 100 per day and that almost every councillor struggles to keep up with casework and emails.”
As well as the number of councillors, the commission is reviewing how many wards there should be and where the boundaries are, as well as how many councillors should be elected for each ward. The last review of Bristol was done in 2015, with the changes rolled out one year later.
Councillors play a variety of roles, such as deciding which new buildings should get planning permission, granting premises licences for new pubs and and restaurants, and representing residents in disputes. Eight policy committees also decide what the council should do about issues such as transport, social care and housing.
Six extra councillors are expected to cost taxpayers £124,272 a year, which will come out of the council’s general revenue budget. After the commission publishes its final recommendations, an order will be laid in parliament in autumn 2027. Bristol has had 70 councillors since the turn of the century, when it was increased slightly from 68.
On average, each councillor represents 4,762 voters in Bristol, about the average for large cities. Other big English cities have more councillors: Birmingham has 101, Leeds has 99, Sheffield has 84, Manchester has 96, and Liverpool has 85.
By Alex Seabrook, LDRS