POLITICIANS have blasted plans that will see Barrhead linked with Uplawmoor and East Renfrewshire lose two councillors.

New council ward boundary agreements drawn up by the Local Government Boundaries Commission (LGBC) have now been approved by the Scottish Government.

Barrhead will be connected to Liboside and Uplawmoor to create one large ward stretching round Neilston once local government elections conclude in May next year.

Though the town will retain its current representation of four councillors, East Renfrewshire as a whole will have its total number of councillors reduced from 20 to 18.

Neilston and Newton Mearns North will lose one councillor, while Barrhead's new ward will take in the Liboside communities of Gateside and even some streets in Neilston.

Last year East Renfrewshire Council (ERC) bosses rallied against the proposals – set using forecasts on population growth and deprivation studies – arguing residents would be underrepresented by a "constrained 2012 population figure".

Barrhead councillors have now questioned the logic behind the LGBC's decision-making process.

Labour councillor Kenny Hay said: "I'm totally against it. I really fail to see what use it's going to be.

"Barrhead, although it is keeping four councillors, initially they had discussed the possibility of making that three. However, adding Uplawmoor into Barrhead, I see no relevance in that whatsoever.

"There are no real similarities between the two. Uplawmoor is tiny in comparison to Barrhead.

"It's bonkers. I'd love to hear the rationale behind that but I don't think we ever will.

"You could argue that as Barrhead gets bigger it should have an extra councillor.

"The population is increasing and as it increases you get more issues.

"We're talking about building 4,500 to 5,000 houses over the next six-year period.

"That's a lot more people coming into the area and more problems to deal with yet you're cutting the councillors."

He added: "To cut councillors when the population of ER is getting bigger seems to be a ridiculous idea.

"Local democracy is about getting representation. It is not offering a level of service to the residents of East Renfrewshire."

A year ago council bosses complained about the negative impact the proposals would have on Barrhead's community spirit and identity – a view still held by SNP councillor Tommy Reilly.

Cllr Reilly said: "The changes might make sense in some areas but, in our case, I don't think there's a strong case for it at all.

"To join with Uplawmoor might seem a bit strange but that's the mixture of what we've got. It's strange the way they just draw lines on maps.

"I don't see how it makes sense in our situation. We're already a small local authority although we're quite efficient in what we do.

"I would have preferred the status quo. The changes mean that we will have fewer elected members, making it harder to man up committees.

"This is already difficult as we are such a small local authority."

Other councils have protested against the LGBC's plans and cllr Reilly believes more should have been done to satisfy local authorities' requests.

He said: "Inverclyde Council is being given an extra two councillors it doesn't want.

"There should have been room for manoeuvre there as those two places could have been allocated to East Renfrewshire.

"If you've got less councillors there's going to be more work for the remainder of the council."

ERC leader Jim Fletcher singled out the discrepancy the new boundaries create between population levels and political representation.

He said: "It is extremely disappointing that ministers have accepted the arrangements set out by the Boundary Commission and seem set on enforcing these changes on local authorities.

"There’s absolutely no evidence to show the link between deprivation levels and councillor workload. In East Renfrewshire we have a rapidly growing population which has not been fully taken into account.

"Other smaller council areas will now have significantly more councillors than East Renfrewshire. The proposals would also break traditional community ties and create artificial links between areas."