I WRITE in response to a number of letters from residents of Christchurch regarding the proposal to form a new Unitary Local Authority consisting of the towns of Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole.

I myself live only a couple of roads away from the border of Christchurch and Bournemouth, and as an elected representative of Bournemouth have a great deal of pride in my town along with respect for the history and differences in Christchurch. None of this is at risk because, quite simply, none of this will change.

What the discussion is around is quite simply the mechanism for providing services to our residents. The towns would remain the same, and indeed would retain their identities, mayoral duties and all the features that make them individually special. But our duty to our residents is, to be quite blunt, to make sure that we can empty the bins, fix the roads and protect the most vulnerable in our society in the best way possible.

Currently, Christchurch Borough Council only provides for just 12.8% of the services to Christchurch residents. The other 87.2% is provided by Dorset County Council based in Dorchester. In terms of accountability, there are therefore just five elected representatives acting for Christchurch on the vast majority of their spending. These services are those such as Children's Services and Adult Social Care which look after the most in need. Neighbouring Bournemouth and Poole already provide those services, and it would be much more efficient to collectively do these services together.

But isn’t it true that Bournemouth and Poole have no assets and massive debts which will negatively affect those in Christchurch? Quite the opposite. Bournemouth and Poole have net assets (i.e. once debts are accounted for) of over £1billion (Christchurch currently has £60million of assets) and reserves of £145million (Christchurch council currently has just £11.7million).

It’s easy to come up with scare stories about why this new council would be bad for residents of Christchurch – or indeed Bournemouth and Poole – but to do so is to ignore the real benefits. It’s quite simply about creating an efficient council without duplication. We have a duty to protect our individual heritages, but an even greater duty to protect the delivery of vital public services including social care for the elderly, libraries, schools and child protection.

Personally, I don’t think most people care what the name on the tin is of a new council, so long as it is best placed for our collective residents, both of today and tomorrow.

COUNCILLOR PHILIP BROADHEAD

Cabinet Member, Bournemouth Borough Council, Town Hall, Bournemouth