THOUSANDS of new houses in the Ribble Valley could force an overhaul of councillors if a review goes ahead.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is set to open an investigation because of an ‘electoral imbalance’ in the borough.

New councillors could be added to wards including Whalley, Langho, Chatburn, Chipping, Wiswell and Pendleton and parts of Clitheroe after the review is concluded.

It has been requested by the council after a draft ‘Future Electorate Forecast’ revealed that 3,996 new electors are expected to move to the area because of more housing in the region in the coming years.

According to the figures, contained in a report to the Policy and Finance Committee, that would leave the Wiswell and Pendleton ward with 72.3 per cent more electors than the recommended number of 1,292 per councillor.

Whalley’s percentage would increase to 72.4 per cent, while Langho’s would be 25.7 per cent.

There are currently 46,389 electors in the Ribble Valley.

The parts of Clitheroe that could be affected include Littlemoor, St Mary’s and Primrose.

The figures, which have a ‘strong relationship with housing development’, contribute to the council’s prediction that a future electorate would be 51,668 strong.

A council spokeswoman said that it did not know yet how many councillors would needed to be added or abolished.

The whole review could take more than a year. Nick Walker, chairman of the Save Whalley Village Action Group, said: “I doubt that the council’s projected figure is high enough as there are around 6,000 planned houses for the borough at the moment.

“Having three councillors for Whalley would be fair but I would question what difference or impact they would make.

“The large housing applications were passed regardless of the views of the local representatives.

“It’s only right that the issue is looked at because that’s the democratic thing to do.”