Last Monday the Boundary Committee announced that its preferred option was for a single unitary authority to cover the whole of Norfolk – as well as Lowestoft.

This would see the abolition of all district councils in Norfolk, including the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, in favour of one mammoth council.

We have major concerns about the implications of this change for West Norfolk.

We believe a single unitary authority of the size and scale put forward by the Boundary Committee would be too big and too remote from West Norfolk to deliver effective local government that tackles local issues.

Over the next three months the Boundary Committee has said it will consult local stakeholders about its proposal and they may contact you.

Right from the start our preferred option was for no change but we were advised that this was not an option and so we backed a model based on two unitary authorities – one based around Norwich in the east and a second serving western Norfolk with Lynn at its hub.

The independent evidence we reviewed suggested that this model best reflected the reality of how people go about their everyday lives.

The content of last week's announcement came as a huge surprise and we are very disappointed that West Norfolk has been overlooked and that the significance of our part of the county appears to have been ignored.

Our priority is to ensure that West Norfolk's residents, businesses and voluntary groups continue to receive locally-delivered, high-quality, cost-effective services.

'MAMMOTH'

We would urge you to consider if one mammoth authority – probably based almost 60 miles away – would be likely to:

• Ensure West Norfolk's dynamic economic growth and regeneration programme maintains momentum?

• Truly focus on the needs of local businesses, local people and voluntary groups?

• Deliver low-cost, high-quality services tailored to local needs?

• Prioritise the unique needs of West Norfolk against those of areas as diverse as Great Yarmouth and Attleborough?

• Really understand and care about the west of the county?

• Strive to ensure local groups and community events continue to receive support and financial assistance?

We are in the process of planning our formal response to the Boundary Committee's recommendation and will keep you informed as things progress.

We are keen to speak to as many stakeholders as possible to inform our response and urge you to contact us if you have any questions or queries, or if you would like to arrange a meeting or briefing session to discuss the implications of the proposed changes.

We want to achieve the very best possible outcome for West Norfolk and we don't believe the current proposal will do that.

You can make your views known by writing to the Boundary Committee at the following address.