THE leader of Dorset County Council has urged fellow members to “grasp the opportunity” and enter the debate about a move to a unitary authority.

Addressing full council, Councillor Robert Gould said that in a time of unprecedented demands on local government, the authority needed to look at different ways of doing things.

This included moving forward with plans for a combined authority, which will see Dorset councils work in partnership to deliver economic growth and bid for funds from central government.

"I welcome the fact this has started the debate but I’m also absolutely clear that any changes to the current arrangements have to provide a solution for all of Dorset, not just one part," he said.

"I think we need to tear down boundaries and bring services together and any proposal that seeks to do the opposite of this would be counter intuitive and driving in the wrong direction.

"It's about delivering better economic growth, it's about delivering better public services and to do that we need a good clear plan."

He said it was also time to start looking at the medium and long term future of local government in Dorset, which included the possibility of a unitary authority.

Several councillors said the issues needed to be properly debated by the council and said it was important all members got to have a say before any final decisions were made.

Cllr David Jones said: "Big is back on the agenda. It’s been said in support of what we might call the County Borough of Greater Bournemouth that it will be one of the biggest authorities in the country.

"Big is not beautiful, big is a recipe for alienation, for inefficiency and in the end for failure."

Cllr Gould's comments came after it emerged that councils in the east of the county were looking at the possibility of a single authority for east Dorset, Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole.

He said it was important that there was still a channel for local choice and local decision making in any proposals that come forward.

He added: "There is a huge debate to be had here and I think it’s a real opportunity that we must grasp."

Cllr David Harris said that he believed either a single unitary authority or two unitary authorities covering Dorset would deliver savings for the county.

He said: "I believe the business case for creating one or two unitary authorities is a strong one."