Wiltshire Council's 2009 rebrand has come under fire after a newspaper survey of 300 local authorities revealed that Wiltshire had spent the most on rebranding in the last three years of all the respondents.

The £475,000 exercise was undertaken after five councils merged into one, including £179,000 spent replacing logos on buildings, and £113,000 on new uniforms for council workers.

The criticism following the publication of the survey's results has focused on the perceived wastage of public funds. The expenditure has been defended by the Council as necessary to avoid confusion with the five separate organisations that preceded its creation.

Councillor Jane Scott, leader of Wiltshire Council, upheld the cost of the branding exercise. "Rebranding is a cost that has to be met when organisations are merged," she said. "The council was aware of the need to ensure rebranding was undertaken in the most cost effective way possible. Design was undertaken in house, and where buildings, vehicles and other assets had to be rebranded, the focus was on those that were most visible such as refuse freighters and signage at our main offices."

Local newspapers have paid particular attention to the story, drawing links between the cost of the rebrand and the redundancies Wiltshire Council made to 40 staff in December 2010.

The full expenditure was as follows:

£2,188 on a new logo

£17,135 on car park ticket machines

£179,227 replacing logos on buildings

£90,436 on vehicles

£113,827 replacing uniforms

£2,366 changing road signs

£11,395 changing signs inside council offices

£17,494 on parks and gardens

£25,505 changing signs in car parks