SALTCOATS could be spilt in two – at least in local council terms – in the very near future.

And if the decision to increase the number of local councillors from 30 to 33 is made, then no ward is safe from being affected by new boundaries.

As part of a current review being carried out by the Boundary Commission it may see three more local representatives being elected to North Ayrshire Council.

As we revealed last year, the move to introduce new councillors is a long process but one that could come into being soon.

The public will be consulted before any official decisions are made in regards to councillors, wards and boundaries.

Following on from last week’s exclusive that some residents of Saltcoats are actually represented by councillors from Ardrossan and Arran, this news that Saltcoats may become even more fragmented could lead to further fall-out.

As it stands in North Ayrshire and other councils, wards have three or four elected members depending on the number of voters in that ward and this will remain the case if the new councillors are introduced.

But would this mean that Saltcoats and Stevenston would have four councillors as it is currently or would it drop to three if boundaries are changed?

All of this is unclear at the moment but details will be come clear in the coming months.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: “The number of councillors in an area and ward boundaries are regularly reviewed by the Local Government Boundaries Commission for Scotland.

“The Commission is currently undertaking its Fifth Review of Electoral Arrangements.

"The first stage of this review proposed that the number of councillors in North Ayrshire should be increased from 30 to 33.

“As local government wards will remain as three or four councillor wards, this will inevitably result in a review of ward boundaries.

“The second stage of the Boundary Commission’s review is to publish its proposals for ward boundaries, these are expected in May 2015.

"The proposals will be subject to public consultation before the Commission makes its final recommendations to Ministers.”