Residents of Laxey, Lonan and Maughold are being urged to attend a public meeting next week to find out more about the proposal to amalgamate into a single entity.

A new Garff authority would signal the first significant change to local authority structure in the Isle of Man for decades.

A joint statement from the three authorities says: 'The Commissioners of Garff firmly believe that the proposed new authority would provide an ideal size and structure to allow the maintenance of close control over finances, efficiency and quality of service. It would also allow the continuation of the agile, and rapid response to individual queries and problems that ratepayers are accustomed to in Laxey, Lonan and Maughold.'

The public meeting takes place at 7pm on Wednesday October 7 at Laxey School.

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