Leicestershire County Council is hitting back against claims that it has not engaged with district council leaders over the Government’s call for local government reorganisation plans.
Acting leader of the County Council, Deborah Taylor, says the authority has been ‘excluded’ from meetings and discussions about future plans, by the district councils.
Now, the county council is suggesting drawing a line and inviting all leaders to get around the table to discuss proposals at a meeting being called for Thursday, 6 March, either at County Hall or online.
“It is simply not true to say that the County Council has never engaged or refused to engage with the district councils, on the matter of local government reorganisation.
“The Leader of Melton Borough Council, Cllr Pip Allnatt, acting on behalf of the district councils, has confirmed that the period in question when meetings were sought was between the publication of the English Devolution White Paper on 16 December 2024 and now, a period of almost 10 weeks, including Christmas and New Year. During that period two meetings were arranged, although the second meeting was cancelled by the Leader of Melton Borough Council.
“At the first meeting on 8 January, I was told at the start that the district councils had been meeting amongst themselves on more than one occasion and there was consensus that a unitary structure for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland should be a City Council with an extended boundary, and two unitary councils outside the City.”
Person:Deborah Taylor, acting leader of Leicestershire County Council
At its full council meeting on 19 February, the county council published a proposal for One Council for Leicestershire and asked for early feedback, in line with the Government’s approach and timetable.
Deborah Taylor added: “Rather than the district councils seeking to engage with the County Council, the reality was that they chose to exclude the County Council from their meetings. I’m aware that the district councils have said they have “appraised all options” and have opted for a north/south split of the county. At no point have they published any details of this proposal.
“That’s why I’m calling for a meeting on 6 March so all of this can be discussed, transparently and openly. The county council’s proposals for single unitary council outside of the City was already on record and I note that the district councils’ proposal for a unitary structure, which does not include an extended city boundary, announced last Friday, was never discussed with the County Council. Again, the districts chose not to engage with the County Council.”
Complete the survey by 18 March by visiting www.leicestershire.gov.uk/OneCouncil or fill in the handy freepost cut out version in Leicestershire Matters, delivered from early March.