A 16-year-old from south-west Surrey has urged ministers not to “lumber” his generation with billions of pounds of debt. He said it is unfair for people to pay off debts when they have never even been to Woking.

Harley Davey-Harper, who lives a short walk from Aldershot town centre, said plans to merge borough councils into a new West Surrey authority would tie his community to around £4.5 billion in legacy debt.

He said: “As someone who will be starting my adult life and paying council tax in just two years, it is terrifying to know that my money will be sucked into a black hole to pay for Woking’s failed skyscraper projects and Spelthorne’s commercial property debts.”

Woking Borough Council is battling debts of about £2.6 billion after the former administration borrowed heavily to fund commercial development. Spelthorne Borough Council is also facing financial distress with more than £1 billion in debt from risky commercial investment.

Harley has written to former chancellor Jeremy Hunt and his local MP Alex Baker warning the shake-up could leave young people footing the bill for historic borrowing elsewhere in Surrey.

He said: “I think it is important for MPs to know how people are feeling.”

In his letter, he wrote: “Being dumped into this new West Surrey mega-council feels like the final betrayal; we are being used as a piggy bank to fix mistakes made in towns 20 miles away that have nothing to do with us.

“Where I live is a mere 10 minute walk from Aldershot town centre. I am physically part of the Aldershot community, yet I am being forced into a council that stretches as far as Staines-upon-Thames.”

The college student described the decision as a “massive mistake” for the people of Ash.

He said: “I don’t see why we should be paying for roads all the way over in Thorpe Park.”

He added it is unfair for some people to pay off debts when they may never have even been to Woking.

Harley said it is “heartbreaking” to see his home “dragged into a bankrupt Surrey merger”.

He wrote: “My life is already entirely in Hampshire: my housing provider, Vivid, is Hampshire-based; my post is processed in Aldershot; and the most local police force is Hampshire. When I have called the police in the past, Aldershot officers have attended as they are the closest in an emergency.”

Harley said Ash is often overlooked compared to wealthier or more central parts of the county.

“All the focus seems to go into Guildford,” he said. “Ash is forgotten. They only remember us when we need to pay our council tax, not much goes on there.”

He said: “It will be better for everyone if we are in the Hampshire region because the council tax will be lower.”

So far, he has yet to receive a full response from MPs, though acknowledgements have been sent.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Proposals for local government reorganisation in Surrey were locally led and all the proposals received included Ash within a new West Surrey council.

“We recognise that Woking Borough Council holds significant debt that cannot all be managed locally, which is why we have committed to unprecedented debt repayment support of £500m.

“We will continue to support councils to deliver reorganisation in a way that protects services and reflects the needs of communities.”