A PROPOSAL to axe one councillor from a Newport ward is described as "grossly unfair".

As we reported last month, recommendations to slim down the city council frm 50 to 45 members and cutting the number of wards from 20 to 12 have proved controversial.

One of the suggestions by members of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales is to merge areas to create "superwards".

In the draft report, the commissioners have suggested leaving Lliswerry as one ward but reducing the number of representatives from four to three while removing the community of Nash, with around 230 electors, and putting it in a combined ward of Langstone and Llanwern.

But people in Lliswerry are unhappy about the potential reduction in the number of their representatives as the population in the area was expected to increase in the near future.

The commissioners said at the moment Lliswerry had 7.423 electors and the ratio of councillors to voters was 10 per cent below the current average ratio.

Taking away Nash and reducing the number of ward members would increase the ratio to five per cent above the average to 1:2,397.

Cllr Allan Morris, one of the four members, said the ward was due to grow even bigger with more than 1,000 new homes expected to be built by 2011.

He added that with such an increase in population it was arguable that they should have more representation, not less.

He accused the Local Boundary Commission of "moving the goalposts" away from the original purpose of the review.

"The current proposal is grossly unfair and does not make sense."

He expected the Lliswerry councillors would launch a campaign to make residents aware that their democratic rights would be affected by the proposal.