A PLAID Cymru councillor has said that the Vale should not rush into a merger with Bridgend or bow to pressure from the Welsh Government.

Barry town centre councillor Ian Johnson has said that he still believes that the Vale is capable of standing alone.

This comes after the Vale council cabinet agreed to pursue a voluntary merger with Bridgend council and submitted their proposal to the Welsh Government.

Councillor Johnson said that the tone and implications of the latest cabinet meeting were very different to those when the idea was initially presented to councillors in September.

He said this was down to the pressure being put on the Vale Council cabinet from the Welsh Government.

Cllr Johnson said: “Vale of Glamorgan councillors said in September that we felt the Vale Council was strong enough to be a stand-alone local authority and did not need to merge.

“However, it was quite clear that the Vale Cabinet has been leant upon by the Public Services Minister to merge - with anybody.

“Cabinet members wanted to talk about our strong links with Bridgend, but seemed to ignore the fact that the Bridgend County goes much further north – to Maesteg and Caerau, than just the town itself. These are areas which have very little in common with Barry and the Vale.

“While some people in the Western Vale get their health treatment, shop and work in Bridgend, many, many more get their health treatment, shop and work in Cardiff.

"The reality, though, is that the Vale of Glamorgan has substantial reserves and is quite capable of organising its own affairs without a merger.

“The Welsh Government has no mandate to merge local authorities and the Vale Council has no mandate to choose to merge, either.

“If they want to have an open debate about the future of local government in Wales with the people of Wales, then that would be great, but forcing through re-organisation, at who knows what cost, before the next set of elections is anti-democratic.

"One way or another, the people of the Vale must be able to have their say on how local government is organised and how it is delivered for them.

"We shouldn't be rushing into any decisions about mergers that we may regret later.”