BURY has lodged a formal appeal in a second bid to take over parts of Rossendale.

It cites its new rating as the "most improved council in the land" as the reason why the Boundary Committee should approve a possible merger of the two councils.

This time, however, Bury does not propose to adopt the whole of its northern neighbour: only Haslingden and Rawtenstall. It says Bacup can go to Burnley (if people wish), while Whitworth is already earmarked for Rochdale.

A merger is only possible if North West residents vote for an elected regional assembly. If they do, borough councils like Rossendale would be re-assembled into new authorities with some of their neighbours.

The Boundary Committee has drawn up its three favoured options in the event of a merger, but dismissed the Bury/Rossendale link as a "high risk" option, because both councils had received poor ratings.

Mr Mark Sanders, chief executive of Bury Council, has written this week to the committee demanding a rethink.

He points out that Bury's Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) has improved from "weak" to "fair", with a strong likelihood of moving up to "good" within months and even to "excellent" by the end of this year.

"Bury's performance improvement is remarkable," he says. "The factors behind it relate to a positive culture and transformational leadership. The other options proposed for Rossendale do not provide proven ability to improve, and hence are more high risk than the Bury proposal.

"A Bury option would be a safe pair of hands, with performance accredited as being higher than in Lancashire for the vital education and social services."

Mr Sanders reminds the committee that it has already noted the strong links between Bury and Rossendale people, and the similarities in the boroughs' social, demographic and economic make-up. He says these similarities do not exist in the alternative options.

"Rossendale Council's lack of enthusiasm for the Bury option rests solely on what seems to be a lack of consultation," he adds. "This is regrettable, but overcomeable. It is notable that the Conservative Rossendale view has now changed and, more importantly, that Rossendale's residents' views, when asked in August 2003, were considerably more positive."