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North Wales’s councils are to go back to the future with six authorities all set to be reduced to just two.

It means a return to the old boundaries of Gwynedd and Clwyd, with Gwynedd, Anglesey and Conwy combining on one side of the region, with Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire joining forces on the other.

It comes in a radical shake-up with the Welsh Government poised to announce plans to slash the number of councils in Wales to as few as eight.

A statement is expected on the future of local government this morning, although the Welsh Government refused to comment on the speculation last night.

But according to sources, Local Government Minister Leighton Andrews is set to present two options, based on an eight-council or nine-council model.

Some boundaries from the old county council system used before 1996 could re-emerge.

The first option would see two councils covering North Wales as described above.

The alternative model would see three councils in the region, with Conwy and Denbighshire to continue consulting on a merger after their original plan was rejected a few months ago.

The six authorities currently employ well in excess of 20,000 people.

Wrexham have over 6,000 workers while Conwy have 4,000 staff and Flintshire and Denbighshire employ 5,000 each.

And there would be certainly a cull among the top-earners in each council – the chief executives.

On last count the previous chief executive of Gwynedd, Harry Thomas earned £108,264, Anglesey’s Dr Gwynne Jones £110,000 while Conwy’s Iwan Davies had a salary of £102,991.

Over in the east of the region, Wrexham’s Dr Helen Patterson took home between £109,000 and £125,000, Flintshire’s Colin Everett £131,000 and Denbighshire’s Mohammed Mehmet was paid £124,859.

But the plans were met with fierce criticism.

Tory local government shadow minister Janet Finch-Saunders said: “This lame excuse for reform will see us jump back in time to a structure long confined to the history books.”

A Plaid Cymru spokeswoman said: “As expected, the Welsh Government is focusing solely on a simplistic rearrangement of boundaries.

”The new models would see large authorities covering the Gwent and West Wales areas."

But under the leaked map, the former Gwent area consisting of Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent would re-emerge as a single authority with the addition of Caerphilly.

A single authority covering much of the old Mid Glamorgan area – Rhondda Cynon Taf to Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil – would be formed.

Cardiff would merge with the Vale of Glamorgan, along the lines of the old South Glamorgan area.

Swansea would merge with Neath Port Talbot to form a single authority, again along the lines of the former West Glamorgan area.

The former Dyfed area could also re-emerge, covering the West Wales counties of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

Powys would remain on its own, sources claimed.

The proposals would mean the axing of the Williams Commission model that proposed mergers among the current 22 authorities in Wales, leaving just 10, 11 or 12.

They would also spark controversy in the areas where multiple councils are likely to be wiped out.

It is currently not known when the proposals would be implemented but it is thought they would form part of Welsh Labour’s manifesto at the next election.

The Welsh Government would need an opposition party to help get the measures through after that election if Labour did not win a majority.

Mr Andrews is expected to present the new map to the Assembly this afternoon, a day ahead of the Welsh Local Government Association conference in Swansea where he is also due to speak to delegates.

Union has told the Welsh Government to “put its money where its mouth is” over council mergers