Warwick District Council this week got behind the push for two unitary authorities in Warwickshire – despite elected officials believing the government has made "a pig's ear" of the process.

All bar three councillors – including two members of the cabinet – agreed that there should be separate councils in the north and south of the county when asked to vote on the district's preferred option on Wednesday night. 

It means the council will launch any public engagement exercise on the basis that it believes the area would be better served by delivering all current county and district services through a new authority covering the districts of Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon as opposed to a single county-wide authority, the current preference of Warwickshire County Council.

Stratford-on-Avon District Council voted for the two-unitary option on Monday (14 July).

Feedback from the engagement will then inform the final submission in November with the national government, which made all two-tier council areas like Warwickshire start this process around the turn of the year, having the final say if rival bids are submitted.

Deloitte was commissioned by Warwickshire's five districts and boroughs to create a report on what would best fit the government's six criteria. It came back with the view that a county-wide unitary would achieve greater financial savings but that two unitaries would be best on governance, public service delivery, local identity, enabling devolution plans and stronger community engagement. 

Those sentiments were echoed by councillors from various parties with leader Cllr Ian Davison expressing concern at what transitional arrangements would emanate from the county's financial pressures around social care and education. 

He also noted a separate report from local government consultants Peopletoo which showed that those services tend to become more expensive when delivered by larger authorities.

There was broad, cross-party agreement that two unitaries would be better for local identity and reduce any democratic deficit created by fewer councillors being across a greater volume of services.

It was also noted that there would be a bigger gap between council tax rates across Warwickshire's five districts and boroughs than there would be in equalising the positions in Warwick and Stratford districts.

In the end, the main thing that got politicians hot under the collar was whether the government will actually achieve the savings and efficiencies it hopes for by merging councils. 

The district's portfolio holder for resources Cllr Jonathan Chilvers abstained – didn't vote either way – on the preferred option and was joined in doing so by Cllr Will Roberts. Both also serve as county councillors.

"The way that central government is approaching this reorganisation is damaging to local government," said Cllr Chilvers.

"I have already seen hundreds of hours of senior staff time sucked into this that could have been spent improving the services that matter to residents. 

"We know this is just the start. The transition will go on for several years, absorbing goodness knows how much more time looking inwards rather than outwards. The uncertainty that this kind of drawn-out process is damaging for staff and members.

"I know that colleagues will say we don't have a choice and that we have to get on and choose the least-worst option but central government needs to hear the impact of what they are imposing on us. I would ask the leader to represent these concerns alongside whatever submission this council chooses.

"I don't expect central government to listen but it isn't too late for them to change their approach.

"I am extremely sceptical that reorganisation of this sort saves money that could not be saved on a service-by-service basis. Nothing I have read in any of the reports has changed my mind.

"We shouldn't be putting this much energy into changing the heading at the top of our notepaper."

Leader of the opposition Cllr Alan Boad advocated the idea of unitary councils "but not this kind of unitary and not this way of structuring it".

"This seems to be a pig's ear to be quite honest," he said.

"The rules keep changing, new statements keep changing things… Community is important but more so is effective management and the providing of services.

"When you look at what will be provided by the unitaries, we will be running around and doing all the bits that the public likes – not a lot – while the bits we'd probably like, the more strategic stuff disappears (to a strategic or mayoral authority)."

The only vote against two unitaries came from Cllr Jan Matecki, another serving county councillor who was on Warwickshire's cabinet until May's local elections, an administration that has always advocated one county-wide unitary.

He agreed with Cllr Chilvers on national government, questioning why initial feedback received in June did not state its preferred option for Warwickshire.

"It will be an awful waste of money with two proposals going forward," he said.

He referenced "cherry picking" in reports, "making it work best for their option", and played down the strength of arguments around representation and council tax harmonisation.

"All the problems are going to be the same whether we have one or two unitaries," he said.