The leader of Pembrokeshire County Council has announced plans to start reorganisation talks with Ceredigion.

Following recent statements by the Public Services Minister, Councillor Jamie Adams has announced he intends to hold formal discussions regarding the future of local government in Pembrokeshire.

He said: “It is now clear that Welsh Government intend to legislate to force reorganisation upon us.

“While I do not agree that local government reorganisation is necessary, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that it is likely to happen.

“With this in mind, I intend to establish a cross-party working group of Councillors to consider the merits of a voluntary merger with Ceredigion County Council.

“I understand that Ceredigion Councillors are opposed to a merger, and I respect their point of view. However, I do not think this is an issue that we can, or should, ignore.

“We have spent too long recently looking in at ourselves. It is high time that we raised our heads and started to plan for what’s coming down the track towards us.”