Police borders fears over Cotswolds 'break away' plan

Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl has warned the council that its planned split from Gloucestershire "would have serious implications"

The Cotswolds could be policed by the Thames Valley force if plans to "break away" from Gloucestershire County Council go ahead, it is claimed.

There could be "serious implications" for Gloucestershire Police, the police and crime commissioner has warned.

Cotswold District Council's proposal to form a unity authority with West Oxfordshire has proved controversial.

But CDC says the plans - dubbed 'Coxit' - are at an early stage but aim to improve accountability.

CDC leader Lynden Stowe has said Gloucestershire's "historic borders" would remain under the proposals, which aim to improve the "administration and the delivery of council services".

He told BBC Radio Gloucestershire a few weeks ago: "We would expect the police to patrol up to the existing county borders, exactly as now, so if there's a crime in Cirencester, Gloucestershire Police attend and if there's a burglary in Burford, Thames Valley Police attend."

But Gloucestershire's PCC Martin Surl said he had taken legal advice on the "Coxit" proposal, and warned it could "signal the end of Gloucestershire Police as we know it".

Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, he said the Cotswolds could become part of Thames Valley Police District.

"If they break away to a new district, we can't continue policing just half a district," he told the BBC.

"So, either we start taking some of Thames Valley's area in Oxfordshire, or they start policing parts of Gloucestershire. Neither want that ."

A spokesman for Cotswold District Council said they "fully understand the initial concerns" but they were "best addressed through the detailed studies that will now take place to assess the feasibility of the unitary proposal".

Mr Surl, an independent, is standing for re-election as Gloucestershire PCC on 5 May, alongside Labour's Barry Kirby and the Conservatives' Will Windsor Clive.