50 signatures reached
To: Poole Borough Council
We demand a Local Referendum to decide the future of Poole Council
To Poole Council
Please be open and transparent in these proposals and believe for once in quality Consultation by giving the people of Poole and Dorset a Local Referendum on creating a unitary authority or authorities with more options to include for example:
1. Stay the same
2. One whole unitary council
3. Defer the decision till 2020
Why is this important?
A consultation has begun on options for splitting the county into two unitary authorities
Thousands of Residents have expressed their concern over the lack of democratic process and said the consultation is not reaching constituents
8 out of 10 people asked said they “did not know anything about it, other said “it’s a done deal, what can we do about it?” Others say the Merger is 'inevitable'
The Crime Commissioner Mr Underhill has been reported as saying: "Where's the democracy here? A referendum would cost less than roughly 1% of the savings projected - it's about a million pounds - but for such a big democratic change, why don't we actually give people a referendum?"
Mr Underhill has been reported to also criticise the exclusion of a "single Dorset unitary" option, previously suggested and debated by councils.
One of the proposals being put to the public is the merger of Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and East Dorset and the formation of a smaller conurbation of North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset and Weymouth & Portland, but this is not the preferred option by the councils
Another option is for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole to join forces with the remaining councils forming the second unitary authority
A third option would be for the existing unitaries of Bournemouth and Poole to combine, leaving the rest of Dorset to merge
A fourth option is to retain all nine councils
There has been a lot spent on consultations that attracted 40 people or less. The consultation is not reaching ALL households as a Local Referendum would, everyone would then have the opportunity to respond
It has been reported that the Councils have already started to merge services in preparation to merge the Councils which is fueling the ‘done deal’ and ‘inevitable’ fears of the Public
Sign this petition to demand a Local Referendum on the merging of Councils in Dorset, by signing you will be sending a message out to the Councils that WE THE PUBLIC WANT TO DECIDE THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNCILS
How it will be delivered
Email
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