Changes will be made to Shropshire Council’s ward boundary map before the next local elections, it has been confirmed.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is to launch a review of the county’s divisional map later this year, with changes to come into effect in 2025.

It has been brought about due to a growing disparity in the number of electors each of the authority’s 74 councillors represents, with significant changes needed in some areas of the county to level things up.

The review will also influence planned changes to town and parish boundaries, which could see some parish councils merged or absorbed by expanding towns.

The council had already begun looking at town and parish boundary changes, but has now been told to halt the process until the LGBCE has completed the divisional review.

Since the council was formed in a local government reorganisation in 2009, the county has been split into 63 electoral wards. Of these, 53 are represented by a single councillor, nine have two councillors and there is one three-member division – Bayston Hill, Column & Sutton.

Each councillor currently represents an average of around 3,350 registered voters, though there are some areas where this figure varies hugely.

Council leader Lezley Picton said: “I think there will be quite significant changes.

“One of the difficulties we have got is that some of the divisions are now way over the ‘optimum’ number of voters.”

The review will formally begin in October and final changes will be published by the end of next year, to take effect from the 2025 council elections.

Councillor Picton said the council still hopes to implement town and parish boundary changes by this point too.

The review will include rectifying a number of “anomalies” the stemmed from the 2009 changes.

Councillor Picton said: “The divisional line between Baschurch and Tern is right in the centre of Walford Heath, and Walford Heath have been quite badly treated in terns of development.

“We have had one planning application where half the house was in Baschurch and half was in Tern. It’s little things like that.”