That’s the view of former Malvern mayor Clive Hooper, who says they could end up taking on more responsibilities.
The government wants two-tier council areas such as Worcestershire to develop proposals for new unitary authorities as part of devolution plans published last month.
Cllr Hooper, who sits on Malvern Town Council, said: “I think there is much in the white paper which is positive for making the delivery of, and responsibility for, council services more effective and efficient.
“Questions of which council in our area does what, and who is ultimately accountable, should become clearer, and hopefully save on bureaucracy.
“It should also be a great opportunity for town and parish councils to play a better role, by taking on more responsibilities as powers are devolved.”
READ MORE: Council bosses discuss Worcestershire unitary authority
Cllr Hooper has asked for the white paper to be discussed by the executive committee of the Worcestershire County Association of Local Councils, which is open to all parish and town councils in the county.
“I hope the association will be able to play a full part in the formulation of any proposals to be submitted to the government,” he said.
The white paper says for most areas, unitary councils will have a population of 500,000 or more. Strategic authorities – unitaries grouped together, often sharing an elected mayor – will have populations of 1.5 million or more, the government says.
Cllr Hooper said: “There would appear to be a strong case for the combining of Worcester City, Malvern Hills and Wychavon councils to create a new authority, as these have worked closely on the South Worcestershire Development Plan, and the two district councils share a largely common administration.
“Given that Redditch has already close links with the West Midlands Combined Authority and I suspect Bromsgrove will also be looking in that direction, the inclusion of Wyre Forest in the triumvirate of the three other councils I have mentioned could get the population figure to about 420,000, arguably close enough to the figure the government wants.
“However, if the whole county area became a unitary authority, this would have a population of about 609,000 and might prove to be a more acceptable outcome.
“As to the formation of a strategic authority for our area, a combination of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire would yield an overall population of about 1.88 million, or about 1.67 million if the Redditch and Bromsgrove areas were excluded.
“No doubt, though, there may well be other possible combinations under consideration.”