The news has left many people in Wellington outraged and devastated after their long fight to stand alone.

“I’m very disappointed not for myself or my fellow councillors but for our community,” mayor Anne Jones said shortly after hearing the news.

“Wellington Council will no longer exist. We have all been sacked.”

“Until we see the proclamation we won’t really have an understanding of what the ramifications are for us and we know nothing other than to say Wellington councillors no longer exist.”

Deputy Premier Troy Grant announced the new council formed between Wellington and Dubbo would be called the Western Plains Regional Council.

Michael Kniepp has been appointed as administrator and the new general manager is Dubbo’s general manager, Mark Riley. The election won’t be until September 2017.

Mr Grant said it was a positive move and the new council would benefit greatly from $10 million from the Stronger Communities Fund which would give a boost to services, infrastructure and tourism in Wellington and Dubbo.

Cr Jones said the ramifications for Wellington were concerning and unclear with so much still unknown.

“We don’t know if any of the concerned councillors will in fact form part of the transition and whether they will be part of a working party or not,” she said.

“Are previous councillors going to be able to have an input into the formation of the new entity or is it just going to be done with an interim general manager and admin?”

Many people said it was a blow to Wellington and local jobs.

The response on social media was mixed with one person congratulating the state government on not backing down, while another said “Wellington will be forgotten!”

Announcement was held off on mergers between councils taking legal action against the state government.

While Wellington didn’t take legal action, representative of the Wellington Stands Alone Anti-Amalgamation Group, Gary Francis said it would be interesting to see what the findings were.

“This horse may have bolted but we’ll see what the results are from the legal action,” he said, adding that it wasn’t a time to lose heart. 

“We just need to keep reinforcing that we are a great town.”