A PETITION has been set up calling for a referendum on plans to create an east Dorset 'super council'.

The scheme, revealed in September, would see Bournemouth, Christchurch, East Dorset and Poole councils merged to create a unified authority for the conurbation, which would effectively bring to a close discussions over a proposed county-wide combined authority.

Bournemouth's sole Ukip councillor Laurence Fear, alongside former Kinson ward candidate Duane Farr, has set up a petition calling for a referendum to be held asking residents whether they want the merger to go ahead.

"If you go back to the May General Election, I have been doing some homework going through all the leaflets of all parties, but I can't find a single one which contains anything about this proposal," said cllr Fear.

"There is no clear mandate from the people to say they support this and we need a referendum to give us that mandate.

"I am not advocating for or against, I would like to see more detail first.

"I think people need to have a big debate about it, and have their say."

Cllr Fear hopes to collect the signatures of at least five per cent of the population of Bournemouth, more than 9,000 people in total, in order to trigger a referendum via the Localism Act. He said it could take place at the same time as the upcoming EU referendum or Police and Crime Commission elections to save money.

"If Bournemouth gets a referendum that will strengthen the argument that people in other towns should have one too," he said.

It is the second attempt by a politician to hold a referendum over the plans. Cllr Mike Brooke, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Borough of Poole, put forward a motion on the matter in council in November, but it was voted down, leading cllr Brooke to complain about a "democratic deficit" at the authority.

A report outlining the options for the future structure of local government in Dorset will be considered by the councils involved in the next few weeks.

They claim a transformation of local government structure is needed to compensate for central government spending cuts.

To see the petition visit change.org/p/bournemouth-council.