Sir – The outcry from district and city councils regarding Ian Hudspeth’s proposal for an amalgamated body is all too predictable, and inevitably whiffs of self-interest.

While financial savings may, or may not, be realised, the evidence of the true nonsense of the current set-up is evidenced in the January 22 edition of The Oxford Times in which on Page 1 the county council is planning to close Seacourt Park-and-Ride, while on Page 14 the city council is planning to double it in size!

It is clear that there is little integration of major local strategies, in particular planning shows an abject lack of coherence eg between local plans and the individual promotion by different councils of competing major developments eg Westgate Centre versus Botley.

In the appalling, and naive, absence of consultation and co-operation between the various bodies, the seemingly arbitrary division of responsibilities for public services cannot hope to deliver real change and public benefit.

While Mr Hudspeth can be prone to unrealistic and wacky ideas, at least he shows some imagination in proposing solutions to the big issues facing the region.

For public servants, ie paid by the public to deliver maximum benefit to the public, to dismiss these proposals in an off-hand way for the preservation of self-indulgent district ivory towers, is unacceptable.

Peter Gore, Abingdon