LETTER: Councillors want to see a fresh debate over plan which could see Taunton Deane and West Somerset Councils merge

We, the undersigned, believe that: lack of consultation with residents, staff and parish councils on this very subject warrants another full council debate.

We believe a forced merger and the cost-cutting transformation exercise will ultimately result in an inefficient service delivery for the people of Taunton Deane, including in some cases a total collapse of the provision of essential services for older and vulnerable people, who we as local councillors have been elected to represent.

As councillors we need to debate comprehensively the use of Taunton Deane assets currently valued at £357m and use of the New Home Bonus, which is proposed to be used to facilitate the merger (West Somerset council currently have assets of £15m). 

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The debate should come after the people of Taunton Deane have been consulted.

Are the people of Taunton Deane in favour of the use of their council’s assets to finance redundancies, leading to job losses of approximately 20 per cent under the banner of savings?

The people of Taunton Deane should not be forced to contribute financially without having a say whether they approve of the proposed merger.

It is about democracy and engaging with people and Taunton Deane residents should be allowed to contribute and choose how to spend and raise their taxes for the local community.

We would therefore urge the administration to:
1) Immediately engage in a public consultation involving residents, parishes and staff before the decision to merge is finalised.
2) Engage with the new local government minister immediately requesting financial support for WSDC to ensure TDBC communities are not financially or adversely affected. 

SIMON COLES, FEDERICA SMITH, FRANCESCA SMITH, RICHARD LEES, SUE LEES, SIMON NICHOLLS, PHIL STONE, HABIB FARBAHI, DANNY WEDDERKOPP, JEFFERSON HORSLEY, CHRIS BOOTH, MARCIA HILL, MOLLIE FLOYD, HAZEL PRIOR-SANKEY, THOMAS ALDRIDGE, EDWARD GAINES, ANDREW GOVIER, ALISON GUNNER, IAN MORRELL AND STEVE ROSS