How many councillors is too many? That was one of the questions raised at a special meeting about the potential of a town council for Weymouth.

A full council meeting was held to discuss the next step following consultation in the summer as part of a community governance review.

The review was conducted in light of the prospect of a new unitary authority for western Dorset and the abolition of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

'Future Dorset' plans to split Dorset into two unitary authorities – and dissolve district and borough councils – have been approved by the government.

Under the Future Dorset proposal, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council would cease to exist in April 2019.

Discussions have been held as to whether a town council with limited powers should be set up in Weymouth.

At the full council meeting, councillors discussed the next stage of the community governance review for the creation of a town council.

The report included the results of a public consultation which asked residents for their opinion on the formation of a town council.

It recommended the first election for the proposed new council to be in 2019, the new council to be divided into 12 wards and the number of councillors elected to the council to be 29.

Cllr Alison Reed, spokesman for corporate affairs and continuous improvement, said: “It is Weymouth Town Council and not the unitary authority we need to be focussing on. The public consultation has been quite interesting.

“I think the main thing the public are worried about is the number of councillors.”

Cllr Kate Wheller added: “If we’re to go to the Boundary Commission to reduce the council we would be here for far longer than we have so it’s sensible to keep going as we are and make sure we allow for a boundary review as soon as possible afterwards. I’m quite sure most of us would agree 29 councillors is too many.”

Councillors also raised concerns over implications for Portland.

Cllr Sandy West said: “This for Portland has been like a 43-year-old marriage and now it’s time for us to divorce and like in any good divorce settlement I hope the borough council does look on Portland sympathetically and that we do actually get a share.

“For 43 years the borough council has sat on little bits of land on Portland which it never bothered with and now they want to sell it. I would like to hope that when we do split that it can benefit both future councils and that we work for the benefit of both Weymouth and Portland.”

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council leader Jeff Cant said a minimum of £25m a year would be saved due to the Future Dorset proposal.

The majority of councillors agreed to the report’s recommendations, with only one councillor abstaining.

The two unitary councils are proposed to be up and running by April 2019 and the decision to form a town council in Weymouth is set to be be made on Thursday, February 22 at a full council meeting.

Have your say

There's another chance for people to have a say on the possibility of a new town council for Weymouth.

A consultation over the summer saw almost 1,000 people respond while 900 people were spoken to at roadshow events.

Residents were in favour, with 77 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing with the idea of a single town council for Weymouth.

There were a number of comments about the number of councillors.  Some residents feel that 29 councillors would be too many.

As part of the Community Governance Review process, residents have another opportunity to have their say on the proposals.

You can complete the consultation, which runs until January 12, 2018 at futureweymouth.co.uk

Cllr Alison Reed said: “Residents have already let us know that they support a town council, You now have another opportunity to have your say on what that will look like.

“This is great opportunity to keep a local voice for Weymouth. A strong town council will not only provide services for the town, but it will also speak for and represent Weymouth.”