25 YEARS ago, on January 5, 1995, the Echo reported on a petition which had been launched by the Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

The petition sought to fight the abolition of the then local government structure in Dorset.

Councillor Brenda Dench signed her name on the petition, which urged the Secretary of State for the environment to turn down the local government commission’s recommendations to split the county into four authorities.

Councillor Dench was reported saying: "The general public have stated clearly that they want the status quo to remain. Why wreck a system that works well? A colossal amount of money would be used on this transition."

Under the commission’s recommendations, Bournemouth and Poole would each run their own services, and the Purbecks and North Dorset would join with Christchurch to form an Eastern Dorset Council.

The move would lead to Weymouth and Portland merging with West Dorset District Council.

The petition - which was set to be sent to John Gummer - was made available to sign at the borough council’s offices.