A JUDICIAL review launched against the proposed merger between Taunton Deane and West Somerset councils has been dismissed.
Taunton Deane Borough Council leader Cllr John Williams described the decision as ‘vindication’ and ‘an answer to all our critics’.
“We have just heard that the judicial review has been dismissed. The council officers put in a tremendous effort to make sure everything could go through and I think this is real vindication of the good work they have done,” Cllr Williams said.
“I have always been confident that the council officers had put together a very strong case following all the appropriate rules and regulations and I am delighted that they have been vindicated because everything has been done correctly” he said. “It is an answer to all of our critics.”
The news will come as a blow to critics of the merger including the Liberal Democrats in Taunton and Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger.
In an angry speech to Parliament criticising the merger on Tuesday, Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger said he felt the judicial review had merit.
He said: “In July, Taunton Deane Council approved the merger. That decision has now led to a legal challenge by a number of Taunton Deane’s councillors who insist that they were not told the truth.
“The legal challenge is powerful and is already causing the Taunton Deane leader and his team considerable anxiety.”
