WE ALL want our money to be spent wisely, but the plan to merge service capability in four district councils, forming a long discontinuous sausage across two counties from near Banbury to the Welsh border, is startling and it will take much convincing that this “coalition of the willing” will be able to deliver services efficiently across such a curious span.

Even a quick look at the paper going to Cotswold District Council finds many disclaimers dotted throughout on the reliability of the estimated benefits, which are of course potentially valuable (after implementation costs, which I did not see specified) but hardly an utter transformation of the cost scene.

Once all staff have been transferred to the central new command pool it will surely be impossible for anyone to go back should delivery not match the promises.

And it is surely fanciful to say any of four separate bodies of councillors will be able to achieve distinct democratic influence, necessarily in contention with the other elected bodies in the common pool.

It looks as if the case will largely be concluded by October: few business enterprises would attempt change on this scale so swiftly and all sensible ones would subject such ideas to a very sharp independent “constructive challenge”.

So let us hope there is a genuine willingness by CDC cabinet to be frank about the issues with the public and to take advice.

And why not take time possibly to be more radical?

Before diving into this, let us have a parallel study on the issues involved in Gloucestershire becoming a unitary authority and to see what lessons have been learned from this in Wiltshire.

KEITH SALWAY,

Lechlade