PLANS to merge Gwynedd and Anglesey Council are back on the table after the Local Government Minister, Alun Davies, announced plans to drastically cut the number of local authorities in Wales.

North Wales’ six local authorities could be halved if proposals outlined by the Welsh Government are given the go ahead.

Under the plans outlined by Local Government Minister Alun Davies, Anglesey and Gwynedd would merge, as would Conwy and Denbighshire, and Wrexham would join up with Flintshire.

Powys would be the only council to retain its present boundaries, with Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire reforming the old county of Dyfed, slashing the overall number of Welsh authorities from 22 to 10.

Mr Davies’ proposals come less than two years after the Welsh Government announced that it was dropping previous forced merger proposals in favour of greater regional working among existing councils.

The move would also raise questions over potentially thousands of local government jobs and the wider economic impact on towns and cities that depend on council employees’ daily trade.

This latest attempt has come under attack from the Welsh Local Government Association, who said in a statement: “Merging authorities on the breadline to create larger authorities without the necessary resources is not a sustainable solution to the problems councils face. Local government was already responding pro-actively to the previous reform programme of regional collaboration and is progressing with the City and Growth Deal agenda. Consequently, this announcement has caused disquiet and confusion."

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