Shire Hall backs single unitary option amid democracy fears

The merging of Shire Hall with district authorities into one council has been chosen as the preferred option during a meeting in which many councillors felt the Government-imposed reorganisation will harm local democracy.

Gloucestershire County Council yesterday debated the two options for local government which have been worked up with the six district authorities.

These are for one single unitary authority or splitting the county into East and West with one council made up of Gloucester, the Forest of Dean and Stroud and the other composed of Cheltenham, Cotswold and Tewkesbury.

Separate plans for a Greater Gloucester unitary council with another unitary for the rest of the county is being put forward by the City Council were not debated today.

Council leader Lisa Spivey (LD, South Cerney), who opened the debate, said it was a truly historic moment for the county and explained why she would back the single unitary option.

She said councillors would debate the options before them but the final decision would not be made in Shire Hall but by ministers in Whitehall.

“I cannot help but observe that this runs completely contrary to the very principle of local decision making,” she said.

She said she has weighed up both options and felt that the single unitary would be the preferred option.

“In principle, I believe that smaller, more locally focused councils can bring real benefits, not least in terms of democratic representation and local accountability.

“Two unitary authorities in theory could deliver that."

“But the proposed two unitary authorities along an east-west split in my view does not best serve the needs of Gloucestershire’s residents in particular."

“With a built-in financial deficit from day one and a disproportionately high demand for services that cannot be the right starting point for success, no matter how local the service delivery is, I am not willing to gamble that the Government will recognise this issue and fund that council appropriately as some suggest."

“I have come to the conclusion that service delivery across our major directorates, adults, children, education, public health, and highways would be best served by a single countywide unitary council.”

Green Party Councillors expressed their opposition to how local government reorganisation was actually taking power away further from local residents and areas with distinct identities such as Stroud and the Forest of Dean.

Councillor Chloe Turner (G, Minchinhampton) said neither residents nor districts have asked for the reorganisation and it was not something included in Labour’s manifesto.

“There is no evidence that unitarisation in principle will make savings – Government have acknowledged that they have not conducted their own analysis, relying instead on a County Council Network report, since revised."

“From Government’s own White Paper said: ‘Too many decisions affecting too many people are made by too few’."

“Yet this proposal from the Government will slash the elected representation for Gloucestershire from 295 to 110, when we already have among the highest resident to elected representative ratio in Europe."

“How on earth is this supportive of democracy? And the only prize – devolution to a mayoral authority with its budget and powers – is not even something Government seem willing to engage meaningfully for our county, so it remains a distant dream.”

She said of the two options, it was “crystal clear” to her that the single unitary was the only viable option to have any chance of protecting residents’ services and the places they love.

Conservative group leader Stephen Davies (C, Hardwicke and Severn) said his group would vote for the single unitary option.

He said his group was not whipped and they all felt that was the best option.

“One is the right way forward,” he said. “And it is not only because of the financial benefits which are competitive."

“But actually, I think there’s a huge benefit in having a single council."

“There are other benefits to a single council besides those obviously identified."

“I also agree with the leader that we need to work really hard on the neighbourhood model."

“It’s important that the new council is not a Gloucestershire County Council takeover and that it is a culturally different organisation.”

Reform UK councillors echoed concerns the local government reorganisation was being pushed on the council and decried the lack of public consultation.

They said they would support the single unitary option which they believe is the “lesser of two evils”.

Councillor Vernon Smith (R, Tewkesbury West) said officers’ time has been burnt up by the process.

“Where is the local voice? Where is the democracy?"

“Where’s the consultation with the public?”

He said Reform “have taken a pragmatic” stance and would vote for a single unitary council."

“We have got serious issues, highways need to be sorted,” he said.

“We have lots of serious issues and councilors here should understand that the officer’s time has been burnt up in all this.”

A total of 38 councillors voted in favour of one unitary authority, four for the two unitary authority option while ten abstained voicing opposition to all of the above options or the fact the Greater Gloucester option was not debated.

The two options debated at Shire Hall

A single unitary council:

One council for the whole of Gloucestershire County Council area.

Would maintain the current county-wide approach to delivering fire and rescue services, adult social care, children’s social care and education services.

Aims to make decisions quicker, cut out repeated work, and provide better, more consistent services.

Expected to save more than £21 million per year, with £164 million in net savings over the next 10 years.

Local communities would have more say through new Neighbourhood Partnerships and links with town and parish councils.

Would invest in digital technology to make services easier to use.

Meets Government requirements and puts Gloucestershire in a strong position for future changes.

Two unitary councils:

Two councils: one for the East made up of the current Cotswold district and boroughs of Cheltenham and Tewkesbury and one for the West covering Gloucester, the Forest of Dean and Stroud.

Keeps a strong local identity for different parts of the county.

Expected to save nearly £11 million a year, with more than £55 million saved in ten years.

Local people would have more say through Neighbourhood Partnerships and links with town and parish councils.

Both councils would invest in digital technology for better services.

Meets Government requirements and supports Gloucestershire’s ambitions.

Based on the Government’s current timetable, elections to the new council or councils would be in May 2027 with the new authority taking over from the current seven councils from April 2028.

The full proposals, along with a timetable of the council meetings where they will be debated can be found on Future Gloucestershire : Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation in Gloucestershire