SENIOR councillors have criticised the new ward map for Blackburn with Darwen for 'dividing communities'.

The blueprint was drawn up by the borough’s Labour leadership after a cut to the number of elected politicians by a fifth saving £100,000 a year.

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The new map will see 51 councillors spread across 17 wards instead of 64 representing 23 after ‘all-out’ elections in 2018.

Several well-known names including Highercroft, Meadowhead, Marsh House, Fernhurst and Sunnyhurst will vanish as polling divisions are merged and redrawn.

But a new Central ward, similar to the pre-1997 Cathedral ward, reappears.

The blueprint will spark a bitter fight between long-serving Labour councillors seeking ‘safe seats’ in 2018.

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr David Foster said: “The splitting of my existing Whitehall ward between two new ones is dividing communities.

“Four wards for Darwen rather than five means the town will be under-represented on the borough council.”

Former Tory leader Cllr Mike Lee said: “The Billinge and Beardwood ward taking in part of Corporation Park is dividing communities and joining areas that do not belong together.”

Veteran Tory councillor Colin Rigby said: “This new map appears to have been designed by the Labour Party to its maximum advantage short of getting into trouble with the Local Government Boundary Commission.

“There will be some bitter battles between Labour councillors for the best wards.”

Labour agent and borough deputy leader Cllr Phil Riley said: “We have followed strict guidelines in drawing up this map with the M65 as the Blackburn/Darwen boundary.

“The commission will rigorously scrutinise it for political bias.

“The will be lively competition among Labour councillors for the new wards.”

The full map is available on council paper at: drive.google.com/file/d/0B2ZFtgvmkoZXT3RKZUxCZ214Y2c/view.