Sacrificing democracy

Ever since I came to Shrewsbury in 1967 I have been interested in planning. I served on the borough planning committee for nearly 12 years and I know that those making decisions about planning in our borough need to understand and appreciate the wonderful assets we inherit and how vital it is we conserve our heritage.

In a rural county as large as Shropshire, it is virtually impossible for county councillors to appreciate the problems of planning across the county.

If we form a unitary authority I foresee planning decisions about Shrewsbury & Atcham made by councillors from Oswestry, Tenbury Wells and Bishop's Castle.

More decisions would be delegated to unelected officers, because there will be too much for the councillors to manage.

For this reason alone, forming a unitary authority would sacrifice a level of democracy that is, in my opinion, unacceptable.

The formation of a unitary authority for all of Shropshire, except Telford, would inevitably concentrate power at a higher level and make the distance between the public and the local authority too great.

A unitary authority may be acceptable in urban environments such as Wolverhampton or Stoke-on-Trent but this cannot be the case in a large rural county.

The promise of savings is illusory. In all large organisations there is more waste than in smaller ones.

And then SABC is one of the most efficient councils and its council tax is the lowest in Shropshire.

Even if savings were made that were permanent, we would still be sacrificing our democratic rights. More power in the hands of fewer people, and central government would have even more leverage over our destiny.

Alan B Shrank, Shrewsbury