I AM grateful for the coverage of the community governance review concerning the councils of Aiskew and Bedale in the paper (D&S Times, Mar 17). I hope it encourages more people to participate in the consultation.

It may be my name that is being associated with this review, but 551 people signed a petition calling for it. I initiated the petition because so many people, including elected officials, kept saying to me that the two councils should merge, but nobody was prepared to trigger the consultation process.

When asking people to sign the petition, their main response was: “I thought we already were one council.”

As a resident of Aiskew, I feel strongly that I am not paying my fair share of the costs of the services provided by Bedale Town Council; I am paying 36p per week less than residents of Bedale for no services.

The purpose of the merger is to create a council that will have more resources to deliver better services for everyone. For example, some residents of Aiskew would like to see a new community centre now that the Methodist church has been sold; a more efficient council, with more resources, should be able to develop such a project.

Because the members of the parish councils have not been elected, their decisions not to support the merger are based on their personal views, not their constituents.

This consultation process allows everyone to have their say; it is part of our democratic process.

Yvonne Rose, Aiskew