WEST Devon Borough Council is fighting plans by the Boundary Commission to create larger wards, which the authority says would be a detrimental step and severely affect the ability for effective democratic representation. The recommendations to decrease the number of single member wards from 15 to three, in favour of more two-member wards covering larger areas, have been proposed to improve levels of electoral equality — ensuring that the number of voters represented by each councillor is approximately the same. But the proposals would not work in a rural area like West Devon, members said at a special meeting of the borough council on Tuesday, held to agree the council's response to the draft warding arrangements. Cllr Bill Cann said he would like to see more one member wards in West Devon, not less: 'We are in a very rural area where it is difficult to get to some places especially in the winter. 'Councillors have to travel many miles on rural roads and if the wards are too big, we will not get the right representation for the people.' Members said the sheer size of the proposed Bridestowe ward, which would consist of nine parishes, was simply too large for a borough councillor to represent effectively, as too was the proposed Dartmoor ward, which would amount to 306 square kilometres — this was between ten and 15 times the geographical size of other proposed wards and therefore was totally unworkable, they said. The council opposed Brentor and Mary Tavy being split into different wards which would result in the villages, which had always shared a natural community relationship, being divided. Cllr Terry Pearce, who represents the current Mary Tavy ward, said Brentor Parish Council was very unhappy about this and given that the school was even called Mary Tavy and Brentor Community Primary School, it just did not make any sense. 'Putting Brentor, which associates itself with the south of the borough, in with Bridestowe, which looks to Okehampton and Exeter, is crazy,' he said. 'The proposed Dartmoor ward which would include Mary Tavy is so massive you would need a helicopter to cover it.' Cllr John Hockridge agreed, saying it already took him a month to canvas all the residents 'door-to-door' of the Bridestowe ward with its five present parishes. Councillors said they had been pushed into a corner and had to find a solution for the Hatherleigh ward, which currently has more voters than other wards. To this end they had recommended increasing from 31 to 32 council members to maximise the number of single member wards and not create additional parish wards, even though it would cost the council more money. They are proposing single member wards for Hatherleigh and Meeth, Inwardleigh and Okehampton Brightley and Beaworthy, Highampton and Northlew. Cllr Paul Ridgers said considering the Government was borrowing billions of pounds a year to keep the country afloat, there were better ways of spending money on a boundary review when it was not really necessary. The closing date for the representations on the draft boundary review is next Monday (July 21). Go to the website http://www.lgbce.or.uk">www.lgbce.or.uk to comment. It was noted that only 19 of the 31 council members were present at the meeting which was poor, said several councillors, given the importance of the issue.