BURY'S possible merger with Rossendale is OFF: and furious council chiefs are threatening to go to court.

The Boundary Committee has effectively said that both boroughs are not good enough to make it work, under a county-wide shake-up of local government.

But Bury accuses the committee of judging the town on figures that are 18 months old, and is considering seeking a judicial review.

The reorganisation depends on north west residents voting "yes" in a referendum for an elected regional assembly. If they do, councils like Rossendale will disappear. Simultaneously, voters will be asked to choose one of several options about which new council they want to come under.

Bury was keen to take on Rossendale, but this idea has been kicked into touch by the boundary committee, which published its draft recommendations yesterday (Monday Dec 1).

The committee said that Rossendale council had been given one of the worst ratings in the country by the Audit Commission, and Bury's rating was "weak". It would be a "high risk option", says the committee, for these two to form a council.

Mr Mark Sanders, chief executive of Bury Council, said he was "astonished" with that verdict. He said it was "absurd", given that Bury was certain to see its rating rise to "fair" later this month, while many departments had also gained higher "star" ratings: in fact, Bury was one of the most-improved councils in the country, he said.

"We are most upset that they never set foot in the place at all," he said. "They never asked us any questions, they did not investigate anything. We even wrote to them saying we had some fabulous results coming up, and we heard nothing. They've dismissed us in one paragraph."

Mr Sanders added: "They acknowledged the geographic and community links between us, but made no mention of funding at all: we reckon there's enormous savings to be made. We think we had something very positive to offer the people of Rossendale. The committee has taken away their right to decide whether they wanted to come to us."

The committee is proposing three options for voters, assuming that they say "yes" to an assembly. The first is a giant new Lancashire council comprising one million residents; the second, a range of new unitary councils, under which most of Rossendale will be in an East Lancashire council of 510,000 residents, along with Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Ribble Valley, and Blackburn with Darwen. The third option proposes two separate councils for East Lancashire: Blackburn with Ribble (which takes in Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley), and then South East Lancashire (Burnley, Pendle and most of Rossendale).

Under all three proposals, Whitworth (currently in Rossendale) would be absorbed by Rochdale.

Residents have until February 23 to make their views known before the committee draws up its final recommendations. An online form can be filled in at www.boundarycommittee.org.uk