Public consultation on council shake-up plans launched

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

Who is responsible for services such as fixing roads, providing social care, planning for new developments and collecting the bins in Gloucestershire will change over the next few years.

And now residents are being asked to have their say on all three council shake-up plans put forward for local government in the county.

Ministers want to see district authorities merged with county councils in England as part of their drive to simplify local government and create stronger local councils.

In Gloucestershire, that means the districts will be merged with Shire Hall and one or more unitary councils providing all of their services would be created.

The proposals put forward include creating a single unitary authority to cover the whole area represented by Gloucestershire County Council, splitting the county into East and West or the creation of a Greater Gloucester authority with a separate council for the rest.

The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is now  seeking views on the three proposals.

Cotswold District Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Stroud District Council, and Tewkesbury Borough Council proposed the single unitary council.

While Cheltenham Borough Council proposed the creation of an East Gloucestershire made up of Cheltenham, Cotswold and Tewkesbury and a West Gloucestershire comprised of Forest of Dean, Gloucester and Stroud.

Gloucester City Council’s proposal requested to split the county into a Greater Gloucester authority including 21 nearby parishes and a council representing the rest of the county.

However, the Forest of Dean District Council did not submit a proposal amid concerns the reorganisation would diminish local democracy.

The statutory consultation, which runs until March 26, asks questions about each proposal to help inform the assessment of the proposals.

People can have their say on the proposals by completing the online survey here.

Or by writing via email to lgrconsultationresponse@communities.gov.uk or in writing to LGR Consultation, Fry Building 2NE, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.

Those responding in writing are asked to make it clear which proposal they are responding to.

More information on all the proposals can be found here.

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk