CHRISTCHURCH council has been told there is “no realistic” prospect of mounting a successful legal challenge against the council merger.

The leader and deputy leader of the authority met with legal experts in London on Tuesday following support from full council earlier this month.

Hopes of mounting a meaningful fight against the Local Government Reorganisation plan, which was approved by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid last month, now appear highly unlikely. Members of Christchurch Borough Council (CBC) will debate next steps at full council next month.

Cllr David Flagg, leader of CBC, said: “Further to the resolution of full council on March 13, the deputy leader and myself met with counsel on March 27 to seek further clarification on the original legal opinion received.

“We will be taking a report to full council on April 24 to allow members to consider the best way forward. Following the meeting the advice from the QC is that there is no realistic prospect of a successful legal challenge against the Secretary of State’s decision to approve local government reorganisation in Dorset.

“We remain committed to the joint committee and are working with our partner councils to achieve the best outcomes for our residents.”

Christchurch MP Sir Christopher Chope, who is lobbying to prevent the borough merging with Bournemouth and Poole authorities, also attended the discussions on Tuesday.

Cllr Ray Nottage, who is backing the merger, said the brief was unambiguous.

“This further compliments the fact the that councillors who were opposed to this process were absolutely right. There is no point making a legal challenge,” he added.

“I think we should be starting now to organise ourselves for the next year for the corporate issues on all fronts.

He said that members with specific knowledge should be in place working with colleagues in Poole and Bournemouth, while others should be appointed in areas where there is a lack of knowledge to talk about the challenges with the other authorities.