EXETER City Council leader Phil Bialyk's misapprehension that his catalogue of Exeter's recent “successes” will win the hearts and minds of Crediton residents with regard to local government reorganisation (Crediton Courier, October 30) is either cynical or naive. It is certainly disrespectful.

His letter makes no mention of Crediton (or the other communities the City Council is bent on subsuming into a proposed "Greater Exeter" unitary authority).

Exeter's proposal for the new unitary Devon setup
Exeter's proposal for the new unitary Devon setup (Exeter City Council)

It gives no sense of a proactive effort to understand local priorities, or how they might differ from urban ones.

It is dismaying to note the absence of any attempt by the City Council to engage with residents outside the existing city boundaries ahead of the deadline for submission of proposals to central government at the end of November.

Promising future consultation on a plan developed by a body on which affected communities have no representation only after it is approved is lip service, not democracy.

Nicola Frost

Penton Lane

Crediton