PLANS to move nearly 9,000 East Lothian voters into a new ward for future Scottish Parliament elections will cause confusion and split communities, council officers have warned.

The Boundary Commission for Scotland is currently proposing to move Prestonpans into the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency, along with some residents in the east of Edinburgh.

The move is designed to reduce the number of eligible voters in East Lothian from more than 67,000 people, closer to the average number of 59,902 – the quota for mainland constituencies.

However, in a draft response to the proposed changes, council officers argue that the move will confuse voters and breach the first rule of changing boundaries, which is to keep local authority boundaries in mind.

READ MORE: East Lothian may 'lose' Prestonpans in Holyrood constituency shake-up

A report to councillors on the response of officers said: “It would split the existing East Lothian Council area between two constituencies and two regional constituencies.

“Just under 30,000 of the East Lothian Council electorate, over a third, would be in the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.

“The proposed new constituency of Midlothian North and Musselburgh would be the only constituency to have electors from three local authorities: East Lothian Council, City of Edinburgh Council and Midlothian Council.”

“In addition, the towns and villages across the area concerned form cohesive communities and are significant places within the county, with Musselburgh and Prestonpans being two of the county’s main towns.

“There is no history of a split in this area, as is now proposed, and there is no rationale for such a division at this point in the council area, other than the need to meet the electorate quota.

“If this proposal is adopted, a number of residents of East Lothian will be in different electoral  areas for UK Parliamentary, Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections, which may lead to voter confusion and inconvenience.”

Councillors will be asked to approve a response to the Boundaries Commission objecting to the current proposals and calling for more time to come up with alternative options in discussion with neighbouring local authorities at a meeting this week.