CONTROVERSIAL plans to force councils to merge will be reconsidered after failing to win support, First Minister Carwyn Jones has admitted.

Ceredigion council leader Ellen ap Gwynn has welcomed the U-turn by Mr Jones on the proposals put forward, that would have seen Ceredigion forced to merge with Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to re-form Dyfed.

Speaking on a BBC radio show, Mr Jones said the lack of support for the proposals put forward meant it was unlikely to be pursued.

Cllr ap Gwynn said: “I was very pleased to see that the First Minister did not include local government reorganisation in his list of priorities for the new Welsh Government.

“Ceredigion council unanimously agreed to oppose the plans put forward by the previous Minister as we did not feel that they would lead to any improvement in local services.

“During these times of austerity and continual cut-backs, all time and effort needs to be put into delivering services to the best of our ability and not into moving the deck chairs."

A Welsh Government spokesperson confirmed that although there was still a commitment to reorganising councils, that was likely to see different proposals because of the lack of support for the original map.

See this week’s south editions for the full story, in shops now or online by clicking the Digital Editions tab at the top of the page