THERE will be a decision made soon from the Office of the Secretary of State, Sajid Javid, as to whether Christchurch will become part of the larger unitary authority with Bournemouth and Poole. Following recent letters in the press which have supported this proposal, I believe there are a number of valid reasons why the residents of Christchurch should strongly reject this proposal.

Christchurch Borough Council, has voted, and firmly rejected this proposal. This followed a vote of no confidence in the, then, Leader of the Council who favoured the proposal.

The sitting MP for Christchurch is also opposed to this change.

A consultation process has reported that there is support from those residents polled in an independent survey. The number of these residents who voted in favour of the proposal was 289. There are in excess of 48,000 residents in Christchurch. It is believed that many of those voting were ill-informed or ignorant of the important issues. Decisions made from such a small sample are an insult to local government democracy.

Christchurch is debt free. Bournemouth and Poole are both failing through spiralling debt.

Christchurch, under a unified authority would lose control of its valuable assets, principally development land. In the proposed expanded authority there would be six representative councillors for Christchurch, and eighty for the new authority, that would end local democracy for the people of Christchurch.

Does any Christchurch resident really wish to be represented by individuals who currently serve on those other councils who are under investigation for the misuse of their position in public office ?

Finally, if your readers have any concerns, perhaps they should write to their MP or directly to Sajid Javid ; let's keep Christchurch the beautiful place it is.

TOM LANE

Quay Road, Christchurch