THE Vale of Glamorgan Council meeting last Monday evening considered the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) response to the Welsh Government’s White paper on merging councils. If there is one thing the Vale of Glamorgan seem to be able to agree on it’s that they are doing a great job and should be left alone.

The White Paper supports the notion of reducing 22 councils to 12 but the WLGA preferred solution is to increase the number of councils to 26: introducing four new regional councils.

I believe there are far too many councillors in Wales and that the number of principle councils could be reduced to at least 10. Creating more tiers of government as proposed by the WLGA seems to be yet another defensive reaction. Given the level of finance now available, fewer principle councils, supported by a few regional committees, and a much improved role for community councils seems a good way forward.

Dennis Harkus

Via email