BURY is to get an extra electoral ward and three more councillors, despite angry Tory opposition.

Town hall bosses have redrawn the borough's map to comprise 17 wards and 51 elected members, at an estimated extra cost of £25,000.

They say population changes have made it necessary, and that more councillors would reduce their workload.

But the council's leading Tory condemned the plan, which has to be approved by the Boundary Committee, as "an abortion".

The major change happens in the far north of the borough, with a new ward wedged between Ramsbottom and Tottington and running from Hawkshaw in the west to Nangreaves in the east.

Council leader John Byrne said that the borough's population had swelled by 12,500 since the last boundary changes, the equivalent to one and a half more wards.

"We need to ensure proper representation for citizens," he told Thursday's (Sept 12) council meeting.

"One extra ward would go some way to alleviating the extra workload that councillors are undertaking."

But Coun David Higgin, Tory group leader, said he had not heard any councillor complain that the work was too great.

"If anything, the workload is less under this new management regime where the executive decides virtually everything," he added.

"I cannot, for the life of me, see a cogent argument to increase the number of wards and councillors: not one that would be supported by the people of this town.

"I asked people at my area board how many wanted an extra ward and councillors, and nobody put their hands up, except two Labour party candidates at the last elections."

Coun Higgin described the approved plan as "an abortion".

"Where is the community spirit in this new ward? There's not a road which connects one end to the other. It just does not bear thinking about."

His Tory colleague, Coun Sheila Magnall, said you had to cross a motorway, a railway line and a river to get from Hawkshaw to Nangreaves.

And Coun Yvonne Wright, added: "You voted to close schools and old folks homes for lack of money, and are now proposing three extra councillors, with the extra allowances and costs involved.

"I think you have a bare-faced cheek. You could not care less what the taxpayers' priorities are."

Labour councillor Derek Boden accused Coun Higgin of taking a "cheap, populist approach" and said that democracy costs money.

"Why didn't he ask people whether it's right that it takes 11,000 people to elect three councillors in one ward, when it takes 6,500 in another?"

The proposals were also criticised by Coun Wilf Davison, Lib Dem leader.

"The proposal meets all of our interests as far as Prestwich is concerned, but we are not convinced financially that 17 wards is correct," he said. "If we can do the work, as a party of three, I am sure that a lot of other people can as well."

Labour voted through its plans against opposition from the Tories and Lib Dems.

The council will be formally told next February whether the Boundary Committee agrees in principle with its proposals. Months of street-by-street wrangling are expected to follow any approval.

Residents will be asked to suggest names for the new ward, and for the remaining wards as well, at upcoming meetings of the borough's area boards.

The changes will not affect addresses or postcodes: they are for voting purposes only.

The major changes to the map are:

1) Tottington loses Hawkshaw and Greenmount to the new ward, which in turn takes Baldingstone, Walmersley and Nangreaves from Moorside.

2) East ward gets Bury town centre from Redvales, and gives Freetown to Moorside. Redvales now stretches down to Blackford Bridge, taking in some houses currently in Unsworth.

3) Radcliffe Central and South wards have been provisionally turned into Radcliffe West and East.

Radcliffe North loses the east side of Ainsworth Road to Radcliffe East, which includes Spring Lane and Dumers Lane.

Radcliffe West contains Outwood, everything west of Pilkington Way, and north up to Turks Road.