No support for ‘super council’ proposal
A district council considering supporting a single North Staffordshire ‘super authority’ has been told its proposal is not backed by a key member.
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is considering backing a suggestion to create a single unitary authority spanning the current footprint of the Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, plus the Stone and Uttoxeter areas.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is writing to its Moorlands neighbour before the key vote, reminding it that Newcastle councillors have already voted against any proposal for local government reorganisation which includes merging with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
Simon Tagg, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said:
If this forced local government reorganisation is pushed through by national Government, Newcastle is happy to have constructive talks about the future with the Staffordshire Moorlands.
But if the Staffordshire Moorlands working group had spoken to us before making a recommendation for a merger with Stoke-on-Trent, we could have made clear that the elected representatives of Newcastle-under-Lyme are against the idea.”
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is also seeking further meetings with Government as it feels the most recent feedback from Westminster failed to address several key issues.
Subjects Newcastle wants to explore include how a forced change to a unitary authority would improve services for residents, how neighbouring authorities would have to help manage Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s debts if they were forced together, and – if change is compulsory – how Newcastle can pursue its favoured option for a unitary council.
Simon Tagg added:
We are being carried towards central Government’s artificially imposed deadline to submit proposals later this year and many questions of the Government’s plans remain, including how any authority being forcibly joined with Stoke-on-Trent will deal with the city council’s financial situation and performance issues.
As well as engaging with the Government, and seeking further meetings, the council has called on its MPs to support the reality of the current position: the Borough Council is already delivering good, cost-effective services, which are accountable at a local level and that forced change would not improve the lives of residents in our community.”
While the council is against the enforced abolition of the borough and county councils in favour of unitary authorities, if such a change was enforced the borough would prefer a single authority to be created on Newcastle’s current administrative boundaries, or investigate partnering with other similar authorities, such as the Staffordshire Moorlands.
The Borough Council is positive towards the creation of a Strategic Authority spanning Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and which could also include neighbouring areas if there are good arguments for their inclusion.
Simon Tagg added:
This is a separate issue to forced reorganisation: the creation of a Strategic Authority looking at transport, investment, infrastructure and how we integrate climate change and sustainability for the whole region make sense, because it could devolve funding and practical powers to Staffordshire from London.
A Strategic Authority would not collect bins, manage parks or clean streets – that’s a council’s job.
But we risk missing out in Staffordshire as devolution is delayed – meaning we cannot engage with the Government’s plans around its Industrial Strategy and future funding. I would urge the Government to work with us in advancing plans for devolved delivery.”