Surrey councillors ask ministers to ‘write off’ Woking’s £1bn debt

Woking declared effective bankruptcy after its multibillion-pound spending spree that included residential skyscrapers. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Taxpayers are being asked to shoulder £1bn in debt amassed by a bankrupt Surrey council that will be merged in the government’s plan for the biggest transfer of powers to England’s regions this century.

Posing a fresh financial headache for the government, councillors in Surrey have requested that ministers “write off” £1bn in debt held by troubled Woking borough council to enable a merger between the county’s 12 local authorities.