By Julian Whittle

Last updated 12:50, Saturday, 11 October 2008

Cumbria County Council is telling ITV to rethink plans to axe Border TV and its nightly Lookaround news bulletin.

The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has indicated that it will allow ITV to merge Border and Tyne Tees into a single news region.

The name Lookaround would survive.

But instead of a dedicated 30-minute bulletin as now, Border viewers would get a 15-minute opt out from a programme broadcast from Gateshead.

Ofcom’s consultation on these proposals runs until December 4.

However, ITV has already announced plans to close Border’s studios at Durranhill, Carlisle, making 51 out of 64 staff there redundant.

County council leader Stewart Young condemned the move.

He told a cabinet meeting in Carlisle yesterday: “It makes a mockery of having a consultation if you pre-judge the outcome.

“We want to continue the campaign against that decision.

“We will be responding to the consultation before December and expressing our view that a 15-minute opt out isn’t a satisfactory solution.

“We still want to see a 30-minute programme.”

Border staff and viewers’ campaign to save Lookaround, including 16,000 people signing petition postcards, was the most vigorous in the country.

Mr Young added: “The size of the public response from this area should have made Ofcom think again.

“We will be making the strongest possible representations before the end of the consultation period.”

ITV says the changes, part of a £40m cost-cutting drive, are needed to compete in the digital age and that the revamped news service would still be locally relevant.

It has dismissed suggestions that the region would not be covered properly.