COUNCIL workers across Cheshire were yesterday breathing a sigh of relief after the Government pulled the plug on a November referendum to set up a North West Regional Assembly.

The sensational news came through just hours after the Government denied newspaper reports that it was to postpone two of the three referenda planned for this autumn.

If a referendum had gone ahead in the region, Cheshire people would have been asked if they were in favour of a regional assembly.

If they had voted yes, they would then have been asked what kind of local government they would want to serve their area.

One option would have been Cheshire County Council becoming a unitary authority to serve the whole of Cheshire.

The second would have led to the merger of Cheshire's six district councils under new names, such as Chester City and Ellesmere Port & Neston; Vale Royal and Crewe & Nantwich; and Macclesfield and Congleton.

Both options would have led to some job losses due to the high degree of overlapping in council job roles.

Government regions minister Jeff Rooker announced the news in the House of Lords during a debate on the referendum orders that were expected to pave the way for voting on regional assemblies in the North West, North East and Yorkshire/Humber.

He cited concerns over all-postal ballots in the latter two regions following the region-wide postal voting pilots which took place for last month's local government and European elections.

However, many feel the Government has simply changed its mind on the issue and has taken the easy way out to avoid a 'no' vote by an unconvinced public.

A sigh of relief was heard yesterday in the council chamber of Cheshire County Council in Chester when councillors were told the news.

The news was formally announced by county council chairman Barrie Harden who said he had some breaking news for them. A slight cheer was then heard in the council chamber.

Yesterday, Tory county leader Paul Findlow said the Government's postponement of a referendum was a 'cynical political decision by a desperate Government that knew it could not win'.

'This was the second best piece of news I could have had today. The best would have been that the Government had dropped this ridiculous, highly expensive and totally unwanted idea altogether,' he said.

'For the sake of the Council Tax-payers of Cheshire, and indeed throughout the North West, I would urge them to end the uncertainty and horrendous waste of money by doing just that.' Cllr Findlow stressed the uncertain future facing local government had demoralised and unsettled staff whose only 'crime' had been to provide some of the best services in the country.

'The Government should end the un-certainty by scrapping an unworkable political dream that has become a nightmare,' he added.

Chester City Council leaders also reacted but said plans for their new council offices at Gorse Stacks, dubbed the 'glass slug', would still go ahead despite the Government's move.

They say the building will be needed in any case, even if the Government changes its mind.

Council deputy leader John Price said: 'We are disappointed that the referendum has been postponed and that people in Chester will have to continue to put up with this confusing two-tier system of local government where the district councils provide some services and the county provides others.

'Two-tier local government simply doesn't work. It's been demonstrated that unitary local government does, but not on the vast, monolithic scale that Cheshire County Council has been proposing.

'A unitary council for Chester and Ellesmere Port - a local council that can deliver local services - remains the best option, and we are as committed now as we ever were to achieving that aim.'