Views sought on new city council

Salisbury could get a new city council if plans by the soon-to-be defunct district council are supported.

Salisbury District Council will be abolished on 1 April 2009 to make way for a unitary Wiltshire Council.

The district has lost its fight to halt the creation of a single authority and now plans to create a new city council serving local people.

A consultation is due to begin asking residents which services they feel should be delegated to a city council.

Under the new system of local government, the city council would have the same powers and functions as a town or parish council.

Ward boundaries

These include looking after allotments, burial ground, cemeteries and crematoria, bus shelters, community centres, the arts, public footpaths and public toilets.

The consultation will also ask how many councillors should represent the nine wards of the city. There must be a minimum of five councillors.

Salisbury - the only city in Wiltshire - has not had its own council since 1974, when the last local government reorganisation took place in the area and saw the creation of Salisbury District Council.

Currently, it is the only area in the county not to be represented by a parish council.

The new city council would be based on the existing nine district council ward boundaries for Salisbury.