THE plan to abolish Poole and Christchurch councils to create a Super Council was exclusively revealed by the Echo last September. As this plan was to reform our local democracy, its exposure as a plan being cooked up in secret did not bode well for democracy.

And things got no better.

Now we face a public consultation through this September and October which appears farcical.

The consultation documents were drawn up by political leaders (Echo, August 27) but these same political leaders were absent from the launch, leaving council officers to field any awkward questions. There was a pledge at the launch that residents’ views “will be taken seriously” but it is the needs of the residents as interpreted by those absent politicians that will be put first.

And there are many strange assertions reported at this launch. Picking just one, if abolishing Dorset’s district councils will bring such wonderful financial benefits, why would the inclusion of East Dorset DC within an expanded Bournemouth make the plan suddenly unlikely to be financially viable?

Before the launch I saw nothing good to say about Super Council plans.

The consultation launch suggests things have now changed – they have got worse.

Dr Martin Rodger

Bloxworth Road, Poole