A COUNCIL chief says none of the options for future unitary authorities in Staffordshire will be perfect.
The Reform UK administration at Staffordshire County Council has drawn up East and West split plans as part of the local government reorganisation process.
The Government is keen to end two-tier authority areas in favour of single body.
It would mean Staffordshire County Council and Lichfield District Council services would be provided by a unitary authority.
Lichfield District Council has pushed for a more regional approach which would see the local area aligned with the likes of Tamworth and East Staffordshire.
But the Staffordshire County Council plans would put Lichfield and Burntwood in with those areas as well as the Staffordshire Moorlands and Stoke-on-Trent.
Cllr Ian Cooper, leader of the county council, said:
“Local government reorganisation is not something we have sought in Staffordshire. It involves significant risk and high cost with uncertain returns.
“Nevertheless, we are required to do this and by following the rules set out by Government we are determined to get the best deal for the residents and businesses we serve.
“We used expert analysis to examine in detail eight potential options against the Government’s own criteria and a Staffordshire East unitary – which includes the city of Stoke-on-Trent – and a Staffordshire West unitary is the most balanced option, recognising no one option is perfect.”
The proposals will be debated at a full council meeting on 23rd October ahead of a full business case being discussed by the cabinet on 4th November.
If the plans were approved it would see the Staffordshire East council cover 689,784 people in Staffordshire Moorlands, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Tamworth and Stoke-on-Trent using the existing district and borough council boundaries.
The Staffordshire West council would serve 487,794 people in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stafford, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire.
Cllr Martin Murray, deputy leader and lead cabinet member for local government reorganisation, said:
“While there is no ideal option, the evidence shows that the East-West option scored higher than a North-South split for example – and we have a duty to put forward an option which has the best chance of success based on the Government’s own criteria.
“Our preference would have been for devolution to happen first. This East-West model can also support the establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority for the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent area, as we work to securing the benefits that genuine devolution would offer to complement our own ambitions for the county and for the city.”
The Government is expected to make a final decision on a preferred option in 2026.
We are not asking for perfection, just something that is not crass stupidity.
Newcastle under Lyme and Stoke on Trent are both part of the same conurbation. There’s no sense in splitting them between two authorities. Must be some devious political reason behind it.
And are our local Reform County Councillors in the Lichfield Live area supporting this? Can they tell us through Lichfield Live – or do they support the three council proposal?
Cllr Ian Cooper says “We used expert analysis”. They certainly didn’t use any common sense. I wonder who these so-called “experts” were?