DORSET Council’s ‘shadow’ authority will have 175 councillors on it – until it is replaced by the new, unitary Dorset Council.
The body will meet at least three times, firstly to appoint a shadow executive and secondly to agree the council’s budget.
It will also have to approve standing orders and all the other administrative work which goes with creating a new council.
It will actually represent 206 wards across all the existing rural Dorset councils, but because some members sit on more than one authority the numbers come down to 175 individual councillors.
In April 2019 all the existing district and borough councils will disappear to be replaced by one unitary council for rural Dorset and another for Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, although Christchurch Borough Council is currently embarked on a legal challenge to the proposals for the east of the county.
The first meeting of the shadow council will take place within 14 days of the making of the Structural Change Order, the date of which is not yet known.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here