THE biggest shake-up in the history of Copeland Borough Council is on the cards as a request to slash the amount of councillors by more than a third is set to be put forward.

The move, which would see the 51 councillors cut to 33, would save the authority just under £55,500 a year, totalling nearly £222,000 during the four-year term in office.

The request by the council will now be lodged with the Local Government Boundary Commission, subject to agreement by the full council at an end-of-month meeting.

After considering the submission, the LGBC will confirm the numbers in October, with the change coming into force at the next election in May 2019.

In a joint statement, mayor Mike Starkie and the leaders of the Labour and Conservative groups, Lena Hogg and David Moore, said they were fully supportive of the number.

"This council as an organisation has significantly reduced in size over recent years, yet the number of councillors has remained at 51, with the ratio of councillors to the electorate as the lowest in Cumbria," they said.

"We have a large number of dedicated and experienced councillors, who are passionate about their wards and the people they represent, and their contribution is of enormous value to this council and the residents of Copeland.

"However, given the fundamental changes that the council has experienced latterly, we believe 33 is an appropriate and sustainable number of councillors for us to have in the future."

In 2015, the council invited the LGBC to review the governance. An internal research process has since been carried out by an "experienced and independent person," which considered the statutory functions and committees, roles of councillors and comparisons with neighbouring and similar authorities.

The LGBC will also re-draw the council's ward boundaries and rename the new wards – based on the new councillor numbers – for the 2019 election. There will be two stages of public consultation for this stage, between October and January and then March and May.

The LGBC's decision will be confirmed in July.

The number of serving councillors has remained at 51 since the council's formation in 1974.