Shake-up to cost £100m extra

Oct 17 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

THE reorganisation of councils in Cheshire could cost taxpayers more than £100m extra over five years, claims the county council.

Cheshire has fiercely opposed proposals to abolish borough councils and set up two unitary authorities to administer services.

The claims of potential financial risks come after a study by consultants Deloitte.

The county council says far from saving £30m a year the proposed changes and transitional costs added up to about £103m over five years.

But leader of Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council, Cllr Justin Madders, who chairs the group steering the two unitary proposals for East and West Cheshire, said the joint district case was strong judged against all the criteria set by the Government, not just finance.

They too had used Deloitte.

He said: “Our figures stand up to scrutiny and will form a sound basis for two unitary local authorities in Cheshire.”