Plans to merge an affluent historic village on the banks of the River Mersey with an area they say is known for “high crime” and “unemployment” look set to go ahead.

Government officials are ploughing on with controversial plans to combine leafy Hale Village with neighbouring industrial areas of Ditton and Hale Bank, despite widespread outrage from the villagers.

People living in Hale, where properties are on the market for up to £1m, have described their home as a “rural oasis” and the “jewel” in the crown of Widnes.

Although just outside of Speke and with a Liverpool postcode, the Norman village falls within the ward boundaries of Halton Council and is subject to a huge shake up of the borough which will see boundaries redrawn.

The change is designed to even out the electoral map of Halton, so that each councillor represents approximately the same number of voters.

People in Hale responded with anger and resentment over the fate of their village – currently its own ward with one elected councillor – which will become part of existing ward Ditton.

Ditton is a much more industrialised district and is home to a huge waste plant which was blamed for “stinking out Widnes” when the Queen came to visit the town last year.

After a list of scathing objections were put forward by some 50 Hale residents, The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) announced they would be putting revised plans back to the public for a second consultation period.

But they have confirmed this week that Hale isn’t one of the wards up for debate again, with neighbouring town Runcorn the focus of the change.

Prof Colin Mellors, chairman of the commission, said: “We listened carefully to all the views put to us in the previous consultation and have made changes to the original recommendations.

"In east Runcorn, we wish to gather information to learn whether people think that the changes we propose would better reflect their communities than our original recommendations.

“We are now asking local people to log on to our website to tell us what they think about these proposals before we publish final recommendations for the whole of Halton in September.”

This means the merger of Hale with Ditton should come into effect next year, once Parliament have approved the commissions’ final recommendations.

Although geographically close, residents argued that the areas have distinct transport, planning, crime and education needs, and require separate councillors to look after the specific interests of each community.

Those who objected to the plans in Hale complained of “countless social issues” in the neighbouring areas, such as crime, deprivation and anti-social behaviour.

Others said they were worried about what effect “lumping” the areas together would have on the “cultural character” of Hale.

One objector said: “To further degrade this township by anonymising it into a mini conurbation with Halebank and Ditton would be the act of a vandal. If that were to happen, I can envisage that, before too long the original township would be swallowed up into a blob at the south end of Liverpool although, save for the wholly incorrect postcode.”

Another put things even more savagely and said: “Could you explain why it’s been proposed to force a thriving community in Hale to join an area with high crime rates, high unemployment, low levels of health and countless social issues? This proposal is unfair and unwanted by the people who live here.”

Ditton currently exists as a smaller ward containing the district of Hale Bank, which is just a mile away from Hale Village.

Hale Bank Parish Council supported plans to merge with Hale, but agreed combining the three areas would make it difficult for councillors to meet the “individual needs of diverse social and economic communities.”

Despite this, the only change being made to the commissions proposals involves plans for East Runcorn.

Explaining those changes a spokesperson said: “The commission has decided to change its original recommendations so that the main street area of Halton Village will be part of a Halton Castle ward rather than Halton Lea as previously proposed. Local people and groups argued that the area is a fundamental part of Halton Village. ”

In order to provide electoral equality, this means changes also need to be made in the Windmill Hill, Murdishaw, and Palace Fields areas.

Details of the recommendations, including maps of the proposals, are available on the commission’s website at www.lgbce.org.uk and at https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/13208.

The final recommendations are expected to be published in September.