CIVIC chiefs could disrupt the merger between Dorset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police following a division by members.

Cornwall Council held an emergency meeting and asked for an extension to the consultation being carried out over the plans to merge the two police forces.

It follows a motion put forward by Cllr Malcolm Brown, the leader of the ruling Liberal Democrat group on Cornwall Council, who recommended that the council oppose the merger.

Councillor Geoff Brown, cabinet member for Transportation at Cornwall Council, said: “It is a very bad idea for a whole load of reasons and we want to be opposing it.

“I think the consultation is really bad. My professional skill is being a researcher and surveys, and I can honestly say that I have never seen a worse consultation exercise.”

“It is a retrograde step and more likely that in a few years time we will end up with a police force for the whole of the south-west.”

He added that the creation of a new police force could trigger a funding review which could see the police getting less funding in the future.

However, following a debate last several hours, the council voted to ask Alison Hernandez, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall to extend the consultation over the merger and to request a full business case for the merger to be given to the council so that it can make an informed decision as to whether to support the plans following a motion put forward by Independent councillor Jim McKenna.

The plans, which were officially revealed last month would see the combined force responsible for a combined population of around 2.5 million people between the New Forest and Land’s End.

The two forces have been in a strategic alliance for several years with 25 per cent of all staff currently work across the three counties.

A public consultation on the proposals is already underway and anyone who wants to have their say on the merger should visit futurepolicing.co.uk until Monday, August 27 to complete a survey.

Both forces say that the proposed merger was driven by operational reasons and say that if approved it would provide an additional £3.2million which would be invested in 100 frontline staff.

However, request to extend the consultation would have to be considered by chief constables from both forces and the two Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs).

In response, Alison Hernandez, PCC for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly said: “I’d point out that a merger would allow significant further investment in policing.

“We’re already increasing the number of police officers after residents told us that’s what they wanted, and a three counties force would be able to fund a further 430 people on the front line.”

Martyn Underhill, Dorset PCC, added: “A merger will enable us to re-invest the additional savings into policing across the three counties and increase resilience by sharing resources beyond the limitations we are experiencing with our current strategic alliance.”