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There is to be no change in the system of councils in Suffolk, despite the time and money which has been spent on local government re-organisation proposals over the past few years.

The Government announced on Wednesday it had decided Suffolk should stay the same, and council leaders, although welcoming the move, have condemned the waste of time and money.

The Boundary Committee had put forward options which would have seen the demise of St Edmundsbury Borough Council in favour of a unitary Suffolk County Council for most of the county except Ipswich.

St Edmundsbury Council leader John Griffiths, pictured, had joined with others to oppose the idea and suggested a West Suffolk unitary authority instead.

But now the minister for local government Rosie Winterton has announced there will be no change.

Cllr Griffiths, along with Cllrs Geoffrey Jaggard, Ray Herring and Mark Bee of Forest Heath, Waveney and Suffolk Coastal councils, responded with mixed feelings.

In a joint statement they said: "While we welcome this announcement as a recognition that the Government agrees with us that Suffolk's district councils were not adequately consulted by the Boundary Committee, we deplore the wasted hours spent over the past few years.

"We were never against unitary councils, and now we have been given the chance to have our say, in an equal partnership among all the councils in Suffolk.

"Meanwhile, we will continue to work together to provide efficient services for residents - as we have been throughout this farce.

“The Boundary Committee botched their job by recommending two unworkable and unpopular options, so we are not surprised that the Government has decided not to make any decision in Suffolk.

"It is a shame they were not able to choose the three unitary solution that we proposed.

"However, given budgetary constraints and our commitment to share services wherever possible, this could be the best solution in the circumstances."