RESIDENTS of Christchurch are being urged by their MP to lobby members of the council in a bid to stop them abolishing it.

Chris Chope also wants to see a petition raised to help public opinion “see off the plan by December.”

Mr Chope said: “If I felt I was out of touch I would accept this. But at all the public meetings I have attended, I have hardly met anybody who supports the proposal for Christchurch to be merged with Bournemouth.

“I am not at all pessimistic about the outcome of this proposal but I am looking for a demonstration of public support so that I can take the battle forward to Parliament.

“And I would like residents to copy me in on their correspondence.”

Mr Chope also wants people in the East Dorset District Council part of his constituency to do the same. EDDC could also face the axe.

The eight week public consultation on plans to create two single tier, all purpose councils out of the current nine ended on Tuesday.

Councillors will now discuss the issue after the responses from the public have been analysed.

Mr Chope, a critic of both consultation and merger said he believed there had been attempts to gag some councillors.

“Councillors must be able to take part in a full public debate. It seems that council officers are fairly free in expressing their views.

“The consultation has been made so complicated, allowing producer interests and technocrats to brow beat people. The whole issue of so-called council tax harmonisation has been a really serious piece of deception.

“No-one has really cottoned on to the additional council tax people in Christchurch will pay if the merger goes ahead.”

Mr Chope says there is no need for change to the structure and no pressure from central government. But council leaders say there must be restructuring to protect services. They say funding problems mean the current set-up is not viable and no change is not an option.