SOUTH Lakeland District Council has voted to carry on electing a third of its members at a time.
Members rejected the possibility of holding whole council elections once every four years and the current system, where one third of councillors are elected each time, will remain.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is about to start a further electoral review of South Lakeland. Where a council elects by thirds the LGBCE will have a presumption in favour of creating three member wards unless there are exceptional circumstances.
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The decision means that, subject to the review, from 2018 it is likely that most South Lakeland wards will have three members and following the changes there will be a local election in three years out of four. A decision on the electoral cycle is a matter for the council not the LGBCE.
Meanwhile members have also voted to recommend that the council retains its current size (with 51 councillors) in its submission to the LGBCE
SLDC has been asked to put forward its suggestions as part of the overall review being carried out by the LGBCE which considers the size of wards in relation to the number of electors to ensure electoral equality.
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