There is “overwhelming support” among Buckinghamshire businesses for the creation of a “super authority”, according to a business leader.

Chairman of Bucks Business First (BBF) and MD at property consultants Chandler Garvey, Michael Garvey, hopes the business hub will be “at the heart” of the transformation process to create a single-unitary authority in the county.

The news comes after secretary of state for communities and local government, Sajid Javid, backed Bucks County Council’s plans to abolish all five councils in Bucks last week.

Mr Garvey said: “BBF has been lobbying for change for the last four years, or more. The recession was tough on businesses in Bucks and we have had to re organise businesses to make them more effective and efficient.

“The local government has been through a lot of changes and budget cuts and that makes it more important that every pound is spent effectively.

“It is not that they are reducing front line services, it is about making them more efficient.

“Clearly it is important we represent the views of business. We do a lot of work with businesses, but I think the over whelming majority of business would like to see not only an effective local government, but an efficient local government.”

In April 2016 BBF called for an independent commission to be set up to look into creating a single-tier council system as an “urgent review” of the council structure that has been in place for over 40 years was needed.

Mr Garvey said the current system made up of Bucks County Council and South Bucks, Wycombe, Chiltern and Aylesbury Vale district councils is “old fashioned” – and BBF will be carrying out its own surveys as part of the consultation to present to the secretary of state.

He continued: “We want to make sure the business community is at the heart of the discussion and provide insight, because we have been running businesses and the local authority is a business, the only difference is it is private sector money.

“I think it will benefit everyone. Some people won’t want this, and I think it is important to work hard to bring those people along the journey.

“It has been a long time coming. So much has had to change in the business community since the recession and local government has been looking very old fashioned and has been looking inefficient, this should be welcomed by everybody.”

The public has until May 25 to submit their representations to Government by emailing sajid.javid@communities.gsi.gov.uk