Three proposals for Leicestershire authority restructure to be submitted to government as decision stalemate continues

Leaders of the ten Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland local authorities met last week to discuss the future makeup of our political bodies.

The meeting came amid calls from the Government for areas like Leicestershire which have two tiers of authority to unify these into a single tier, meaning local authorities like Harborough District Council could be axed.

The county council believes residents would have a more equal access to services if one ‘donut’ authority was created for the area. This would also save the most money, county council leaders have said. Under their plan, the city and Rutland would remain separately governed on existing boundaries.

However, district and borough councils, including Harborough District, and Rutland County Council, believe having just one authority would leave services too remote from the residents for who they are intended. Instead, they want Leicestershire to be divided in two, with one authority for the north of the county, with Rutland also included in that, and a second for the south.

Again, those heads believe Leicester should remain separate and existing boundaries should be honoured. This is the point with which Leicester City Council chiefs disagree.

The city authority believes Leicester needs to expand into the county for it to remain financially viable, and for it to meet Government-set housing targets.

Three proposals will be put to the Government on Friday, March 21 – the deadline given by ministers for interim plans to be submitted.

Acting leader of the county council Deborah Taylor, called the meeting constructive, and said it was agreed by all that devolution is the goal.

She added: “In the first place however, local government reorganisation is needed and there are differing views as to a unitary structure.

“It’s therefore expected that there will be three interim plans – one from the city, one from the county council and one from the districts and Rutland, to be submitted by 21 March.”

District, borough and Rutland leaders said in a joint statement: “It was good to get everyone round the table yesterday to discuss what will be the biggest change in local government for 50 years. The approach of the district and borough councils has always been to work collaboratively for the good of our community, and this will continue.

“Our focus right now is to establish how best we unlock the benefits of devolution, whilst also ensuring the best way of structuring local government in the area. It is on this latter point where we disagree, and think the idea of one massive council providing all services for the whole of the county is fundamentally flawed, leading to two imbalanced councils in Leicestershire, and would also fail to realise the benefits of devolution for years to come.”

They added they believed they understood their communities’ needs and ‘three well-balanced councils providing these services is the best solution’.

Authorities will meet again over the coming months to continue discussions.

Residents are also being asked to have their say on the future of politics locally, with surveys available on both the Leicestershire County Council website and Harborough District Council website.