A submission for splitting the county council into two unitary bodies was put to government by three of Cheshire's district councils in 2006. The County Council's new administration wants a single authority and is fighting the split, along with Crewe and Congleton borough councils, amid fears over disruption and financial costs.
Sue Egersdorff, county manager for children and families, said, 'Clearly the disaggregating of the children's centre grant will be an issue. It will take time to split the grant between two units and that could seriously affect the planning of the capital spend.
'The other concern is that the expertise we've built up on planning and construction will have to be split up and that will mean there isn't enough expertise to go around,' she added. 'The children's centre knowledge is predominantly in the west of the county. So the east will have little expertise and it will not be an equitable offer.'
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