SALISBURY and Laverstock’s boundary could be reviewed again in just two years, according to the leader of Salisbury City Council.

Andrew Roberts criticised Wiltshire Council’s “disappointing” handling of the boundary review, in which Salisbury lost its bid to takeover Laverstock and Ford parish.

But he poured cold water on the idea of a judicial review, saying it would be “a spectacular waste of everybody’s time and resources”, despite being “absolutely confident” of winning any legal challenge in a “slam-dunk case”.

He rejected claims that the city council had been humiliated, but accepted his side had lost comprehensively, describing the situation as an “omni-shambles”.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, that’s the way it goes,” he said, as he congratulated Laverstock and Ford Parish Council on its victory.

Cllr Roberts pointed out that more than a quarter of county councillors did not vote on the proposals, which Salisbury lost 65-4 and 34-30.

“It’s not a terribly good sign for local democracy in Wiltshire,” he said.

The loss of 300 houses to Laverstock is the first reduction in the city boundary since the 13th century.

Cllr Roberts labelled the “unfortunate” result a “tax cut for certain residents of Bishopdown Farm, funded by either a tax rise or a service cut for other citizens of Salisbury.”

He said the prospect of another boundary review in two years’ time was “not terribly appealing”.

Cllr Roberts said Wiltshire Council had failed to stick to its own rules during the process, and criticised the way consultations were carried out as “unsatisfactory”.

He attacked the working group that found in Laverstock’s favour for a lack of consistency.

And he said Wiltshire Council had failed to answer “straightforward factual questions”, showed a “shortage of leadership” and “lack of clear strategy”. “A great deal went wrong” and he had “expected more” from the authority, he said.

Despite this, the former mayor said he thought Salisbury had a very good relationship with Wiltshire Council. And, he said most people were “totally indifferent” to the boundary review issue, he said.