AN extra three councillors are virtually on their way to Bury under a ruling by the Boundary Committee.

It has recommended that the borough goes up to 17 wards and 51 councillors on the grounds of creating more representative local government.

The extra ward will be titled North Manor and will be wedged between Ramsbottom and Tottington, running from Hawkshaw in the west to Nangreaves in the east.

The rationale behind the expansion is to make ward sizes more equal. Some large wards (especially Ramsbottom, Radcliffe North and Tottington) are theoretically under-represented, while others (particularly Besses and East) are over-represented.

For instance, each Ramsbottom councillor equates to 3,725 voters, whereas in Besses in Whitefield, one councillor represents just 2,314 voters. This is due to expansion over the years in various parts of the borough: Bury's electorate has increased by nine per cent since 1975.

Despite initial objections by local Tories, and a handful of residents who complained about the cost, the committee is making only a couple of minor alterations to the plan it first endorsed.

The committee conceded that the various villages which will make up the new North Manor do not necessarily share much affinity, but was satisfied that sufficient links did exist. It was also constrained by the need to ensure three councillors for each ward.

The Electoral Commission is expected to endorse the Boundary Committee's recommendation later this year, and the new map should be in place for the 2004 elections.

The changes will not affect addresses or postcodes, but are for voting purposes only. They do not affect separate talks involving the possible merger of Bury with Rossendale.

All the wards in the borough will be altered slightly under the review.

Radcliffe will change most: its three wards (North, Central and South) will be split up and become North, West and East wards.

Wards in Prestwich will largely retain their existing boundaries, below the motorway.