DISTRICT councillors were told of the full cost of exploring the controversial and ultimately unsuccessful plans for the Cotswolds to break away from Gloucestershire, at a meeting on Tuesday.

At the Cotswold District Council meeting, it was confirmed that the council spent £4,000 exploring the option to break away from Gloucestershire County Council and form a new unitary council with West Oxfordshire.

The proposal to merge the two councils, which became known as ‘Coxit’ sparked a furious debate earlier this year, with many high ranking officials disagreeing on the plans which were eventually dropped.