A Stafford Councillor has this week questioned the motive behind the County Council's proposal to join Haughton, Church Eaton and Bradley with large areas of Stafford town in the forthcoming County Council boundary review.

Barry Stamp, who represents Gnosall Division on the Council, said he was appalled not only at the proposal, but also at the way public opinion was being sort on the issue.

"Like all other Shire Counties, Staffordshire is about to undergo a review by the Boundary Commission. As part of this process the Council will be submitting details of their preferred boundaries. A few weeks ago the Council Executive approved a draft proposal which saw Haughton, Church Eaton, and Bradley being joined with Tillington and Rowley Wards in Stafford to form a new County Electoral Division. This proposal is far from ideal, as the rural areas have nothing in common with the town, despite the Boundary Commissions wish that new electoral divisions have a community of common interest. This problem is made worse by the fact that there are twice as many people living in the urban part of the proposed division than in the rural area. I believe this points to just one thing - that if this plan is accepted the problems in the rural area will just be overlooked.

However if this is not bad enough the County Council has now sent its proposals out to what they describe as "public consultation". In practice this means that Haughton, Bradley, and Church Eaton Parish Councils have received letters saying the County Council is preparing to submit its preferred boundaries to the Boundary Commission, but have not included any plans or details. If the Parish Councils want to see these, they must visit the County Buildings in Stafford. Everyone that I have spoken to is extremely worried that the County Council is intending to push these plans through, hopefully without anyone noticing. To ensure residents of Haughton, Bradley, and Church Eaton are fully aware of the Council's proposals, I have distributed a leaflet, detailing their plans, to the majority of homes in the area. This leaflet also includes a freepost reply slip so that residents can let me know their views. I will of course be making the County Council and the Boundary Commission fully aware of these replies.

The County Council's proposal is at the very best just a poorly thought-out attempt to get the right number of voters in the new division, or at the worst an attempt to manipulate the boundaries to ensure political advantage is made at the next County Council election, " said Councillor Stamp.