WEST Somerset Council came closer to losing its identity on Tuesday when a key committee recommended that it should not face the future as a stand-alone authority.

The influential scrutiny committee voted 5-3 for the council to give up its independence after hearing that going it alone would produce “a bleak outcome with services seriously reduced”.

The council’s current partner, Taunton Deane Borough Council, has already voted for a full merger and has warned that, if West Somerset does not choose that option, the councils will go their separate ways, putting West Somerset in financial peril.

Taunton Deane and West Somerset have been partners with a single-officer team since 2013, an arrangement said to save £1.3 million a year. A full merger has been estimated to save at least £3.1 million a year.

In a report to the committee, the council’s director of operations Shirlene Adam reminded members that Taunton Deane had made a decision to go for a merger on July 26, Sedgemoor had discussed the matter on August 3 and West Somerset was due to give its verdict on September 7.

“The proposal for transformation is radical and will bring changes on a scale not seen before for our communities, our customers, our staff and for members,” she said.

She said that the three options available to the two councils were to continue joint operations, effect a merger or go their separate ways.

Ms Adam told the committee: “Option two – a merger – offers the strongest financial outcome from the three options in the business case.

“I accept that the decision will need to consider issues other than pure financials but I strongly urge members to bear in mind sustainability and viability.”

She said that, when council leaders met Local Government Minister Marcus Jones earlier this year to discuss the future, he had made it quite clear that a merger was his preference.

“There is clearly an opportunity to open up fresh dialogue with the Government should option two be the council’s preferred option.”

Ms Adam said that, in its business case, Taunton Deane was proposing a merger which would create a new council serving the entire areas of the two existing authorities. There was no proposal to split council areas.

Full story in the Free Press