Staffordshire cabinet members criticise 'super council' plans
Leaders at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council have backed proposals for a North Staffordshire unitary
Council leaders have criticised another authority for supporting plans for a North Staffordshire ‘super council’.
Local authorities across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have been told by the government to come up with proposals for overhauling the area’s councils into unitary authorities.
Leaders at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (SMDC) have backed proposals for a North Staffordshire unitary, which would see a single council covering Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Moorlands, along with Stone and Uttoxeter.
But their counterparts at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council have hit out the decision, which they claim would not be supported by Moorlands residents.
The borough council’s Conservative leadership are opposed to the principle of local government reorganisation, and are firmly against any ‘merger’ with Stoke-on-Trent.
In response to the government’s instructions, the borough council is exploring a number of other options, including a unitary authority for Newcastle on its own, and a potential merger with the Moorlands.
At their meeting on Tuesday, cabinet members voted in favour of developing these plans further and continuing talks with other councils.
They also agreed to set aside £200,000 from the business rates reserve to fund this work – the borough council says it has yet to receive a share of the £367,336 of funding the government has allocated to Staffordshire.
"shift the chairs around"
Council leader Simon Tagg said: “We know that money could be better spent on providing services. But unfortunately this government wishes us to shift the chairs around on the local government Titanic, instead of letting us get on and build more lifeboats.
“We are where we are – we have to do this. We can look more into the proposals for a Newcastle unitary, and also our secondary proposal for a North Staffordshire unitary without Stoke, if we were to be forced down that route.
“I will be writing to the leader of Staffordshire Moorlands to put the borough council’s position, that we are against a merger with Stoke-on-Trent. We also want to know if Staffordshire Moorlands have even considered a unitary with Newcastle.”
Other cabinet members expressed disappointment at SMDC’s decision. Councillor Stephen Sweeney said: “It seems bizarre that Staffs Moorlands have come up with this idea of being taken over by Stoke. I don’t think the people in the Moorlands want it.”
Councillor Andy Fear said: “This is unloved, it’s unwanted. We don’t wish to do this but we are required to waste money on this.
“I am a little bit disappointed with Staffs Moorlands. With their proposals they clearly haven’t look round to their neighbours, they don’t see to want to engage with their neighbours.”
SMDC’s proposal for a North Staffordshire unitary was recommended unanimously by a cross-party sub-committee made up of Labour, Conservative and independent councillors.
The council’s Labour leaders, who backed the plans at their meeting on Tuesday, believe the plan will meet the government’s requirements will also being more financially sustainable than a unitary consisting of just Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and the Moorlands. The proposals will be debated at a council assembly meeting on Wednesday evening.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has already backed proposals for a unitary covering the three areas, while leaving the door open for slight modifications.