Bucks County Council welcomes working together on unitary bid - but not one council working alone

But, following comments from AVDC leader Neil Blake last week that said the authority could put forward its own unitary bid within weeks, Bucks County Council said that ‘it is important that all options are discussed and have business cases developed which are objectively reviewed.’

BCC chiefs responded by saying that any proposals must consider all parts of Buckinghamshire and ensure that whatever option is eventually chosen delivers the maximum potential savings to council tax payers, has strong local working with town and parish Councils and, importantly, is financially viable into the medium term.

Leader of Bucks County Council, Martin Tett, said: “In my opinion the key thing is not protecting existing structures, be they district boundaries or a county organisation.

“We should come together to design an entirely new council structure for the whole of Buckinghamshire that delivers the best value to its residents, whilst continuing to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”