Dorset councillors have agreed to review ward boundaries while keeping the authority at 82 members.
The Conservative opposition group supported the move. Group leader Councillor Andrew Parry said reducing the number to 70 could save around £1million in allowances and expenses over a council term, but added that Dorset was expanding with tens of thousands of homes planned and backed retaining 82 councillors.
Former council leader Councillor Spencer Flower said the last review was carried out in 2018 ahead of the 2019 elections. He said there could be merit in waiting a year so that major housing developments and the Local Plan were clearer, although he supported the principle of a review.
Boundary Commission figures show Dorset has an estimated population of 389,950, around six per cent higher than a decade ago. It says 47 per cent of residents live in rural areas and 53 per cent in urban areas, including Weymouth, Portland and Chickerell.
Dorset has the highest proportion of residents aged 65 and over of any unitary authority in England at 31 per cent, a figure expected to rise to 36 per cent by 2035, while the number of children is projected to fall.
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