COUNCILLORS are appealing Bridport to be fairly represented in a proposed shake-up of local government in Dorset.

Bridport Town Council, along with other authorities, will meet with West Dorset District Council to discuss "preparations for changes to the current structure".

Earlier this month, the district council's overview and scrutiny committee voiced support for creating one unitary authority covering East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset and Weymouth and Portland - with another for Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch.

Town clerk Bob Gillis said: "A meeting is to be held with the district council, involving clerks and a councillor from Bridport, Dorchester, Lyme Regis and Sherborne town councils.

"This meeting is to be held at the end of January and the leader of the council and the town clerk will be attending. The meeting will discuss the process of moving to a unitary, what this will mean for town councils and their future involvement in any unitary authority.

He added: "We have also been looking at discretionary services and assets currently delivered or owned by the district or county council that could potentially be considered for transfer, as part of the reorganisation process.

"This includes, as agreed by this committee, initial feasibility work looking at the future maintenance of public toilets in the town. This work includes looking at options for transitional funding support for any future potential service/asset transfers."

Cllr Dave Rickard, who also sits on the district council, said: "I'm really pleased that we have managed to get the dialogue going between the market towns and the district council.

"There's still some doubt as to how many councillors the unitary will have and whether we are properly represented. We could end up with a constituency which is not really representative. We are so far down the line with the neighbourhood plan that seems like an obvious area."

He added: "I think we have done really well, talking with West Dorset but there's still a long way to go.

"To have a two-member ward which is town and rural does not make a lot of sense to me."

Cllr Keith Day, who represents the town at town and district level, said: "The wards are going to be quite large and representation is going to be quite sparse.

"Planning at the moment is really stretched and it's going to be much larger wards. How are we going to find enough councillors to do this properly? I'm not sure we can."

Cllr Kelvin Clayton asked the district councillors if it would be possible for proportional representation to be used to elect members of a new unitary authority. Cllr Day responded by saying he didn't "really think it has got any mileage".