A DISTRICT council is set to pave the way for a possible legal challenge to a proposed shake-up of local government in Norfolk and Suffolk.Waveney District Council stressed last night (Monday) it did not have any immediate plans to take action, but said it needed to put the framework in place for any future challenge.

A DISTRICT council is set to pave the way for a possible legal challenge to a proposed shake-up of local government in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Waveney District Council stressed last night (Monday) it did not have any immediate plans to take action, but said it needed to put the framework in place for any future challenge.

Waveney could be abolished as part of the Boundary Committee for England (BCE) review ordered by the government and has vehemently fought against proposals to move its main town Lowestoft into a new Norfolk unitary authority.

The council, along with Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury authorities, has also complained to Communities Secretary Hazel Blears that the BCE has refused to consider its alternative proposals.

The three councils are pushing for three new Suffolk authorities covering East Suffolk (with Lowestoft as the main town), West Suffolk and the Ipswich/Felixstowe area.

On Thursday, Waveney's cabinet will be asked to give the council's assistant chief executive, Arthur Charvonia, delegated powers to launch a legal challenge in the future.

Council leader Mark Bee said: 'We have to be ready to take whatever action we deem necessary and while judicial review is not currently in our thoughts, it would be foolish not to make the right preparations for any eventuality, no matter how unlikely.'

The BCE is due to report on February 13 whether it is recommending any change to its provisional proposals. Ms Blears will make the final decision.