Council Leaders express serious concerns about the Single Unitary Council Proposal for Leicestershire

Published: Friday, 10 January 2025

Council Leaders express serious concerns about the Single Unitary Council Proposal for Leicestershire

Leaders from Rutland County Council and the seven District and Borough Councils in Leicestershire have made it clear they have concerns about proposals to create a single unitary council for the county.

The leaders are disappointed that a statement relating to local government reorganisation was issued by Leicestershire County Council without notice and without consultation.

The statement says:

"As local leaders, we are closest to our communities, and have a responsibility to ensure local voices are heard and properly considered in any reorganisation of local government. A single unitary council over a wide and diverse geographic area, which is being proposed without proper consultation, has the potential to be too remote, and inaccessible, from the communities we serve. We must keep the local in local government.

"As leaders we acknowledge the government’s white paper sets a clear direction of travel, but it must be properly considered, evidence-led and ensure that residents and businesses are fully engaged in shaping the future local government of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. We are open to exploring all options, but have not agreed any boundary changes, and are clear that any changes must be based on evidence which gets the right balance between scale and physical geography. Any boundary changes would also have to be limited and balanced. Councils perform best when boundaries reflect the way people live their lives.

"We believe there are credible alternatives to a large single unitary, which will facilitate a better sense of place, deliver savings, boost regional growth and provide better outcomes for our residents and businesses.

"We want to work collaboratively with all our local authority partners to agree how best to reshape local government within our area. We have written to government to confirm that we are keen to work with them and that we expect our propositions to be taken seriously. There is simply too much at stake to have a change railroaded through."

Additional statement from Oadby & Wigston and Harborough leaders

The leaders of Harborough District Council and Oadby & Wigston Borough Council have issued the following joint statement in response to a media release issued by Leicestershire County Council on 9 January 2025.

“The stance taken by Leicestershire County Council in their media statement about their proposals for a unitary City Council with extended boundaries and a unitary council for the surrounding Leicestershire area is regrettable as there has been no consultation on their proposals. We understand the evidence behind their proposals relates to work completed years ago before the pandemic and does not take into account the feelings of local communities and local geography.

“Our residents must be at the heart of any changes that may be imposed upon local government by central government and we will fight tooth and nail to ensure that the government listen and understand the value of local communities and the places where these communities live and work.

“There must be meaningful discussion and consultation on any proposals to allow residents and communities to have a voice. We would expect that our MPs support our view and challenge central government in Westminster where decisions are being made rather than directing their attention at districts and boroughs.

“This process of devolution is not mandatory, just an expectation of central government, and MPs are not challenging that. Why? If necessary, the legal challenge route remains an option.

“We are very clear that the Harborough district and Oadby & Wigston borough are not broken. We deliver valuable services and have on-going plans to continually improve and transform our services for our residents and local communities.

“No decisions on any concession of land to Leicester City have been made and the stance and methods of communication taken by the county council are very disappointing at this stage. All options remain open as we are not against change, but cancelling elections and not giving residents a voice is clearly showing no respect for our residents and voters.”

Cllr Samia Haq, Leader of Oadby & Wigston Borough Council and Cllr Phil Knowles, Leader of Harborough District Council