Derbyshire’s district council leaders, along with Derby, have committed to retaining “local” accountability in any super authority merger talks.
The Government has asked Derbyshire councils to come up with ideas for merger ideas to reorganise local government within the county, with a deadline of March 21 for initial ideas and November 28 for final submissions.
This could effectively see the county and city council and all district and borough councils scrapped and replaced with either one or two different super authorities, with varying boundary options.
Derbyshire County Council submitted its own bid in January for a unitary council to be formed from the existing county district and boroughs and to retain Derby as a second unitary within its existing boundaries – in what had been dubbed the“doughnut” approach.
District council leaders had opposed the model put forward by the county council.
Other merger ideas include a north-south divide of the whole county – including Derby, into two equal authorities; two authorities comprising an expanded Derby border and the remainder to stay in one Derbyshire council; and parts of Derbyshire being absorbed into neighbouring counties – Erewash into Nottinghamshire and High Peak into Greater Manchester.
A joint letter signed by all of the Derbyshire district council leaders and the city council’s leader, details: “As leaders of councils across Derbyshire, we all received the invitation to submit initial proposals for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals from Jim McMahon OBE MP, Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution.
“The minister has set a tight deadline of Friday, March 21 for us to respond and submit our initial proposals.
“The deadline has also been set for a final submission by Friday November, 28.
“As neighbouring and partner councils, we will come together as soon as possible to review the options for a new unitary model of local government that best serves our residents, communities and businesses.
“We have also reached out to Derbyshire County Council and would welcome them joining these discussions.
“We are all incredibly proud of the areas we serve, and we want to reassure all residents and businesses across Derbyshire, that the significance of these conversations over the coming weeks and months cannot be underestimated.
“It is also important to acknowledge that the views of members and employees will be a key consideration of any proposals made.
“We will ensure that whatever proposals are put forward, we never lose that ‘local’ connection that our councils have always had with our communities.
“While these discussions continue, our main priority is to ensure we deliver the day-to-day services our respective councils provide, to the high standards we set ourselves, and those expected by our residents.”
Last week, Derbyshire was informed that the county council elections in May would proceed and that the area was not in the first tranche for local government reorganisation plans, having already adopted a combined authority and an elected mayor.
In response, county council leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, had said: “Although the process is far from ideal happening within the election period and could be a distraction from the issues that matter to residents, we will work to ensure the best result for Derbyshire residents.
“Across the nine Derbyshire councils, there are 400 councillors, nine chief executives, several costly headquarter buildings, and many cohorts of senior management and much duplication.
“Reorganisation will benefit residents by massively improving efficiency in local government and driving down costs by streamlining how we deliver services, as well as leading to greater opportunity for growth and prosperity.
“As a county, we’ve already shown our commitment to making effective change by successfully creating the first Mayoral Combined County Authority and this will open up new opportunities by strengthening our current devolution deal.
“Although we’re disappointed to not be in the first wave, this is still an enormous opportunity for Derbyshire and we’re excited about the possibilities and the potential for savings and streamlined services it presents.”
