THREE councils which could be abolished under proposals to create a unitary authority have criticised Somerset County Council over a lack of communication.

Somerset County Council leader David Fothergill announced before a cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning (May 2) he wanted to explore creating a unitary authority to replace the six existing councils in Somerset.

He said that he was trying to address “the elephant in the room” regarding the delivery of services, and hoped that any new authority would be in place by May 2021.

The five other councils in Somerset have given a mixed reaction to the news, with the leaders of three councils criticising the lack of notice they had received.

Mendip District Council – which represents the people of Frome, Glastonbury, Street and Shepton Mallet, among others – said it was aware of the county council’s “tremendous budget difficulties” but was critical of how the plans had been communicated.

Council leader Harvey Siggs said: “We are surprised and saddened that communications did not come from Somerset County Council at an earlier stage, in time for us to brief our staff and councillors before the county council made a public press release.

“Unfortunately, many of our staff learned about this via the media on their way in to work, which is not how we would wish such a sensitive issue to be communicated at Mendip.

“We have a great team of staff and councillors, and this morning our priority has been to hold staff briefings so that we can answer their concerns as best we can with the minimal information that has currently been made available to us.”

Mr Siggs said that this had “been sprung on us without warning” and “made an already difficult discussion yet more difficult”.

He added: “All of the districts have sound financial forward plans and ambitious plans for the delivery of high quality services.

“We will have the dialogue with the county council, but we will need to be convinced that this massive sort of reorganisation will provide savings to outweigh the disruption and set up costs involved. ”

Sedgemoor District Council – which covers Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge – said that it was “surprised and disappointed” by the news and criticised the way in which the announcement had been communicated.

A spokesperson said: “At the forefront of all our considerations will be what is best for the residents of Sedgemoor and the wider Somerset communities.

“While the last debate on this subject was ten years ago, the business case for one or more unitary authorities for the geographical area of Somerset was not proven, nor wanted by the community. A referendum was held and 84 per cent of the respondents voted ‘no’.

“We recognise that the county council has severe financial pressures and have offered help by devolution of various services to districts. We reiterate our long-held position of never turning down an income generation or cost reduction opportunity without first considering any business case.

“This would mean proper, thorough and meaningful dialogue with all councils, their elected members and our MPs about how to move forward constructively in a timely fashion, where the interests of the communities are at the heart of the way forward.”

South Somerset District Council – which covers towns including  in Yeovil, Chard and Wincanton – criticised both the county council and central government for this predicament.

Leader Ric Pallister said: “I am very disappointed that the county council did not sit down with the five district councils to discuss this proposal before publicly announcing it.

“We all know that county councils and unitary authorities up and down the country are facing enormous financial pressures, particularly with the juggernaut of health and adult social care costs already beginning to spiral out of control.

“This is a major national issue for central government to tackle and one that cannot be left to local councils to sort out.

“Despite this, many councils are looking at how they can be financially sustainable into the future, and so it is inevitable that some form of closer collaborative and integrated working, including a potential unitary solution would form part of that discussion.”

Mr Pallister said that he would enter into discussions with the other councils, and that the main priority was ensuring that essential services were still delivered.

He added: “Uppermost in all our minds is what we are all here for – the delivery of high quality, cost effective essential services that the public both want and need whoever currently provides them.

“Options for a unitary authority must be based on robust business cases that can guarantee the delivery of critical services.  The outcome has to be the best one for the communities we serve in south Somerset and for Somerset residents as a whole.

“We and our partners have been working extremely hard to meet the severe cuts in government funding for local authorities. In South Somerset, we have not had to cut any services to balance the books and, our programme of transforming the council and increasing our funding through income generation has involved commitment, dedication, professionalism, bravery and a great deal of hard work.

“As those programmes start to deliver, our financial future is looking increasingly optimistic and in any new arrangement, we will strive tirelessly to ensure that our financial stability is not derailed in a way that will operate against the best interests of our residents.

“Re-arranging the same deck chairs is not an option for the future.”

The leaders of Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council made a joint statement, reflecting the fact that their two authorities will merge to form Somerset West and Taunton Council in April 2019, with elections being held in May.

Councillors John Williams and Anthony Trollope-Bellew said that they had been “made aware earlier this week” of the county council’s position – a contrast to the perceived lack fo communication with Sedgemoor.

They added: “These are early days without firm proposals on the table to consider, but we have consistently stated that we are willing to discuss further joint working with other councils and our position has not changed.

“Our transformation programme, designed to modernise and streamline what we do and how we do it, is under way. This, together with the new council, will deliver £3.1M in savings each year – money that will be invested in services our residents value.

“The transformation programme is for the benefit of the people that we serve and any future proposals will need to show further significant benefits.”