PURBECK District Council (PDC) has confirmed it will contact Communities Secretary Sajid Javid to set out its position on the controversial 'super council' issue.

After a dramatic night at PDC's Worgret Road headquarters, which ended with a split vote on the council merger proposals being decided by council chairman Bill Trite, the authority ruled against the reorganisation plan.

Council leader Gary Suttle said: "We had an open and honest debate at our January meeting and chose not to support a submission to the Secretary of State that Dorset's nine councils should be replaced by two."

The letter being sent will include a copy of the minutes from the January meeting.

After Purbeck ruled against the scheme - to create two unitary authorities from the current nine Dorset councils - the six councils that backed the the proposals submitted an official request to the Department for Communities & Local Government.

Mr Suttle explained: "If the Secretary of State is minded to accept the submission by the six councils which agreed the proposals for two unitary councils, Purbeck District Council will be asked again to give consideration to supporting this proposal.

"It will be for councillors to decide what steps to take next.

"In the meantime, we will write to the Secretary of State setting out our position."