By Sally Guyoncourt West Midlands councils are on the verge of a legal battle in a bid to block a planned police merger. The seven councils in the West Midlands are considering seeking a judicial review against Government proposals to create a super-force by merging the police forces of West Midlands, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and West Mercia at an estimated cost of £57m. Birmingham City Council was the first authority to discuss the matter in public during its cabinet meeting last week. Members backed the move for a judicial review, objecting to the merger on the grounds of it being poor value for money, unrepresentative of an area, highly disruptive and that it would create a remote, unaccountable force. A Birmingham spokeswoman said: ‘We are in the process of waiting for neighbouring authorities to determine their resolutions on this.’ Solihull MBC, which will be the lead authority in the legal bid, has yet to discuss the matter in a public meeting. A Solihull spokesman said, ‘The possibility of lodging legal proceedings is currently under consideration by various councils and we are expecting to make an announcement in the next few days’. Any legal challenge by the local authorities will put them at loggerheads with West Midlands Police, which is in favour of the merger. A West Midlands police spokeswoman said: ‘The proposed plan to merge the four forces of Warwickshire, West Mercia, West Midlands and Staffordshire is designed to deliver local policing to people who live in all these areas. ‘A single regional strategic force would offer the opportunity to enhance policing and more effectively deliver local neighbourhood policing.’ A feasibility report on the merger has been submitted to the Home Office and is currently under consideration.’ The Home Office claims the restructuring towards larger regional forces, which is planned nationwide, would provide better levels of protection against major crime and terrorism. There are currently 43 police forces nationwide. Under Home Office plans this could be reduced to 17. mjnews@hgluk.com