All change at the town halls

It is the biggest single change to the way local government has been run for 35 years – but for most Wiltshire residents the only difference they could see was lollipop ladies' new uniforms.

Yesterday, the county's five local authorities were swept away and replaced with the West's biggest council. The occasion was marked with flags and flowers, talk of a new dawn and enough photo opportunities to trouble even the most publicity-hungry politician's fixed grin.

The almost half a million residents of Wiltshire will now be governed by a super council with a budget of £0.8billion and a remit to provide every service the old two-tier system did: from rubbish collection and planning to running schools and social care.

The two council leaders at the forefront of the change spent the day travelling the county officially opening the new Wiltshire Council public contact points, which happen to be based mainly in the old district council offices.

Leading Tories Jane Scott and John Thomson put aside party political affiliations to work with Labour Government ministers to push through the unitary bid, in the face of opposition from their colleagues running Wiltshire's Tory-led district councils.

Wiltshire joined Cornwall, Shropshire, Northumberland and Durham in becoming super county unitary authorities, while Cheshire and Bedfordshire are splitting into two unitaries each.

The Government said the moves – the biggest change since 1974 – would save the taxpayer £100 million, £18m of which would come each year from Wiltshire.

L ocal Government Minister John Healey said: "This is not a cosmetic makeover or just a new logo on a council tax bill. Nor is it just a cost-cutting exercise.

"It's about the nine areas making the clear case that they can serve their residents better by top-to-bottom reform, and stripping out a layer of local government.

"The acid test now will be whether these councils deliver their promises, including better services, leadership and achieving more for less, as I – and, more importantly, their residents – expect.

"Staff have put a lot of hard work into ensuring a smooth hand-over and day one implementation. I'm confident that this reform will set a new standard for local government in the future."

Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott said everything on change-over day had gone smoothly, from the new payment systems for benefits and council tax working well, to the new phone number and website.

"People will hopefully notice an improvement. In the past they would have gone to the district council office in their town for two things, and been told one of them wasn't that council's responsibility," she said.

"They might have gone into the district council offices in Devizes or Kennet to talk about their rubbish collection and road gritting and been told gritting wasn't that council's responsibility.

"There was a lot of buck-passing, but now the buck stops with Wiltshire Council. Not only will this save money, it will make it a lot easier for everyone to access services. It's going to be so much simpler and more efficient, and when the area forums are up and running in the 20 community areas in Wiltshire, local people will find they will have a lot bigger say in how things are run.

"We're offering a complete service and you don't have to remember who does what."

Elections for the 96 new Wiltshire Council seats take place on June 4, the same day as the European elections.

Critics of the unitary move campaigned vociferously against it – all four district councils opposed their axe, and Lib Dem rivals questioned the savings claims and said there would be a democratic deficit with fewer councillors representing taxpayers.

But Cllr Scott said: "As a county councillor, my ward covered 16 parishes, but the area I'm going to stand in at the June elections covers only half that number. Each councillor will represent some 3,500 to 4,000 people and I hope people will find it easier and more simple."