IT was always a suggestion that was likely to raise eyebrows and voices.

Suggestions to abolish historic local boroughs, including Eastleigh and the New Forest were always going to face resistance.

In this case the idea was dismissed out of hand.

UKIP’s newly elected Fareham county councillor Christopher Wood put forward a motion yesterday calling for an investigation into whether scrapping Hampshire’s 11 borough and district councils – including New Forest, Test Valley, Eastleigh, Winchester, Fareham and Gosport councils – could be the answer to the county’s money woes.

The suggestion was dismissed as a waste of money when funds are tight.

But was this correct? When Wiltshire carried out a similar exercise and removed borough and district authorities the savings ran into the tens of millions.

Perhaps at least a look at the idea would have been worth the exercise.

This paper is not advocating the removal of historic borough boundaries, but with savage funding cuts likely to continue, a new way ahead must be found eventually.