HERE we go again! The good people of Bedale, Aiskew and Leeming Bar have received a consultation pack from Hambleton District Council asking for their views on a merger of Bedale and Aiskew into one parish/town council.

Do your pockets a favour and ask for things to be left as they are. It ain’t broke and it don’t need fixing.

This is the result of a petition arranged by one person and unfortunately the council is legally obliged to act on it.

The petition gives no reason, whatsoever, for wanting the merger.

Neither council wants this.

Each has enough business to conduct. There won’t be any savings. The consultation exercise has already cost the district council more than £20,000. If the merger goes through, the cost of creating new councils and all the associated elections and other costs will run to many thousands of pounds of our tax.

Looking back at a letter on this page from the chair of Aiskew Parish Council in 2013, the person who arranged this petition was accused of kicking a hornets’ nest and being stung when she yet again tried to push a merger and was told by the councils there was no need for it. I’d suggest the bee in her bonnet is now using new legislation to sting the taxpayers of the area.

I’m a resident of Aiskew and have been since childhood and can see us being poor relations, not deliberately but because the two councils will have different priorities.

Apologies to Leeming Bar electors, but you weren’t even mentioned in the petition. Bedskew? You can try and take our land but we will fight to save at least a bit of our name.

Judi Asquith, Aiskew