Surrey County Council has refused to ask its leader to publicly justify its costly and so far failed bid for a single unitary authority.

Residents' Association and Independent county councillors said the council leader should provide a full public report on the rationale for the timing of his plans to replace all of Surrey's 12 councils with one authority, the costs incurred and the process used to authorise this spending.

Their proposal was voted down by the Conservative-led council 52 to 21 – in what has been described by Independent councillor Chris Townsend as a show of "breathtaking arrogance".

Councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset – but not Surrey – were last week invited by the Government to submit proposals for changing to a unitary structure, prompting Residents' Association councillor Eber Kington to claim the council's actions had "kept pantomime season alive".

County leader Tim Oliver said he did not speak on the motion because "it was based on a false premise". "[The bid] hasn't been unsuccessful," he said.

He has already provided a figure of £246,000 to the council but the Residents' Association and Independent Group believes spending on the unitary bid to be closer to £325,000.

Combined with £183,000 spent on discarded plans for a Woking council headquarters, which according to Councillor Nick Darby "failed because one of the tenants refused to move out", this totals around £500,000.

Being less "accident-prone", he said, could have avoided the cuts the council had to make to its mental health budget.

Cllr Darby, Residents' Association and Independent group leader, said: "What have we spent so far on the intended bid?

"It seems, £71,000 on initial research, £97,500 on what is described as a comprehensive business case, £37,970 on a phone survey and focus groups, £33,866 on a leaflet and postage, £15,000 at £5,000 per month on public affairs support and £69,514 on a senior policy lead.

"Is it really right to suggest this might be useful later?"

Cllr Kington said: "At the outset there was no consultation with the boroughs and districts or residents. And unfortunately for Mr Oliver, he also didn't consult the Prime Minister.

"The pantomime season may have been cancelled in the theatres, but this Conservative administration is at least keeping its spirit alive."

The boroughs and districts spent an additional £150,000 on their own research into alternative restructuring, which the county leader said had identified opportunities to save costs.

After Tuesday's meeting Cllr Darby said: "The refusal to debate the issue and to reject any public scrutiny of their plans is not only treating opposition councillors with contempt but, more importantly, it is treating Surrey residents with contempt."

Cllr Oliver said in the meeting: "The government do still intend to publish the white paper. Restructuring was said to be part of that agenda and anybody that listened to Simon Clarke the former minister over the summer, would have been very clear that it was a Government initiative to look at changing the two-tier structure, not a Surrey initiative.

"We were encouraged to start work on a business plan and that is what we have done.

"Now, it does appear that the Government are only in a position to take on three county councils to a unitary status. There are five others, of which we are one, currently in wave two, and we've yet to find out when that will happen.

"But the letter from the [regional growth and local government] minister Luke Hall confirms that our approach to look at ways to deliver improved local government in Surrey is very much of interest to the Government, and so it should be, because it's very much of interest to our residents."

Surrey County Council has been asked for the results of its telephone survey.