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Brussels
already carves up Britain into regions for things like the European
elections - the area is in the South West region.
Today
the BBC has learnt that European officials believe each parliamentary
region should break down into more uniform parts.
They
believe places like Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire,
and Bath and North East Somerset are simply too small to be administered
effectively.
The
plan is to combine those authorities, with parts of Somerset, to
recreate the County of Avon.
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| Under
the plan, Avon would take in a large part of northern Somerset |
Weston-super-Mare
to split in two
Under
the European plans, Weston-super-Mare would be divided between Somerset
and Avon.
The
new county boundary would run in a straight line from the Grand
Pier to the M5 motorway junction.
The
northern part of town is to be renamed Greater Weston-super-Mare
with the southern half of town becoming Lesser Weston.
Campaign
for Avon's return
It
is not just officials in Brussels who would like to see the return
of Avon.
A political
party and campaign group was formed in the village of Nempnett Thrubwell
last month to fight for the change.
The
group is called Campaign for the Return of Avon Party, or CRAP for
short.
CRAP
members have been lobbying MEPs since the group's formation, and
many political commentators think today's announcement is largely
as a result of CRAP's efforts.
The
BBC understands the new authority will base its headquarters in
Nempnett Thrubwell, as it would be clearly signposted, centrally
located, and easy to get to from all parts of the new county.
BBC
Avon
The
BBC is considering whether it should rename its local website and
radio station for Somerset to take account of the planned new authority.
If
the renaming went ahead, BBC Somerset Sound and the BBC Somerset
website would become BBC Avon Air and the BBC Avon website respectively.
Full details on the Avon mini-site
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