Failed Stratford and Warwick merger cost taxpayers £320,000

THE leader of Stratford District Council was defiant in the face of calls to apologise for the failed merger attempt with Warwick.

A frantic day of activity gave the opportunity for the councils to confirm the end of their merger hopes and also reveal further details of the immediate costs of the failed effort – a sum of £320,019 shared between the two councils, which both point out that the process created far greater in savings.

At Stratford’s full council meeting yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, Cllr Tony Jefferson was in the firing line over what happened – with Cllr Jason Fojtik (Independent, Clopton) calling on him to apologise and resign. Cllr Fojtik listed a range of comments made by senior Conservative councillors in the past in favour of the merger and asked: “If all these Tory councillors thought this to be the next best thing since sliced bread are they now saying it’s a bad idea? I know what is a bad idea, it’s making this council go through this tortuous merger with loss of money and officer time, along with staff morale being affected.