Adur DC and Worthing BC are one step closer to merging all their service departments, after both councils gave the thumbs-up to preliminary plans. Ian Lowrie, who is both Adur's top officer and interim chief executive at Worthing, said detailed plans would now be drawn up and go before both councils, for a final vote, in July. Mr Lowrie said both councils would now be looking at finance and governance issues. One of the proposed changes is to move Adur to a cabinet system, bringing it in line with Worthing. The two councils' refuse and recycling services are already operating jointly. Mr Lowrie said the planned partnership between the two West Sussex councils was already generating a lot of interest around the country, and they had been supported by the Improvement and Development Agency (IdeA). The move could save the two local authorities £500,000 a year. Surrey Heath BC and Rushmoor BC have announced plans to collaborate on joint procurement and delivery of a shared service for refuse collection, recycling and street cleansing. The cross-county collaboration is the first of its kind in the South East.