Liberal Democrat councillors had drawn up a set of three area committees which would serve the new unitary council, aimed at giving more power to local communities.

But members of the county council's Joint Transition Forum agreed to alter the proposals as one of the committees would stretch from Morpeth to Berwick – a distance of 60 miles.

Instead, the forum is now recommending five committees based on the current districts – Blyth Valley, Wansbeck, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale and one serving Berwick and Alnwick.

And rather than just planning issues, the proposed area committees – made up of the elected members for the area plus town or parish councillors – could have a say over street scene, local highways and maintenance, open spaces, outdoor recreation, community safety and anti-social behaviour, local waste collection, community grants for the voluntary sector, and developing area strategies.

Moving the amendments for five committees, Conservative group leader Coun Peter Jackson said: "We've got to create a council that is responsive to local need and what our residents expect us to do.
"The first problem with three areas proposed is size.

"The northern one is bigger than several small European countries.

"The second problem is the overlapping of councillors.

"Several are proposed to be in two different areas, that will be impossible.

"The third is the planning system.

"We're stuck working to six development frameworks of the districts until there is a single development framework in place.

"This will mean the north area committee will be working to three different planning frameworks in the meantime."

He added: "We're going to have a massive gap when the district councils disappear."

Labour group leader Coun Grant Davey agreed, saying: "We need, in my belief, more than three area committees.

"The reason we need more is the ability to deliver quality services to our customers."

But Lib Dem councillors hit out at the proposal, saying it was just like keeping the district councils while three committees was the best way to split the 67 councillors.

Council leader Coun Jeff Reid said: "We cannot recreate another five councils.

"There's all sorts of things we're going to be talking about. The council now is not going to be the council on April 1."

Coun Andrew Tebbutt, executive member for corporate services, said: "All the consultations we've done around the number of area committees suggests that three is the only practical solution."

The Lib Dem plans for three committees would see a north committee (covering Berwick, Alnwick and Morpeth), south east (Blyth, Cramlington, Ashington and Bedlington) and west (Hexham, Haltwhistle, Ponteland and Prudhoe).

The forum agreed the proposal for five area committees goes out for further consultation with local communities.