“In our roles as the Leaders of Derbyshire’s eight District and Borough Councils and the Leader of Derby City Council, we came together last week to discuss options for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Derbyshire, mindful of the Government’s deadline of Friday 21 March for initial proposals. The Leader of Derbyshire County Council was also invited but declined to attend.
“Working collaboratively, and in the best interests of local residents and businesses, we explored a range of options that would ensure that Derbyshire’s historic boundaries remained intact, while also creating new unitary councils of the right scale to deliver the best possible services for our communities.
“The current options we are exploring would involve the creation of two new unitary Councils utilising the geographies of the eight district councils as the key building blocks alongside the geography of Derby City Council.
“It is important to stress that the County of Derbyshire and the City of Derby would continue to exist and retain their own unique identities irrespective of whatever option is agreed going forward. The proposals would however result in both Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council being abolished, along with Derbyshire’s eight District and Borough Councils.
“The options under consideration clearly meet the criteria set out in the Government’s invitation to submit proposals for unitary Local Government, in particular a population size of c500,000, and a sustainable local taxbase that is fair and balanced across all of Derbyshire and Derby. They also provide the opportunity for the two new unitary Councils to work in genuine partnership and collaborate on the delivery of all local government services, in turn ensuring the best possible value for money to local taxpayers. Most importantly, we believe they would be of the appropriate size to strike the right balance between retaining the strong local connections we already have with our communities and being financially sustainable.
“To guide our final decision, our proposals will be subject to extensive consultation with residents, businesses, our workforces, partner public bodies, and the voluntary sector; ensuring all voices are captured and heard collectively.
“We are of the view that Derbyshire County Council’s proposed ‘county unitary’ option would effectively ‘doughnut’ Derby City Council. This would create a large and remote Council, with disparate communities, particularly across Southern Derbyshire, that would in turn lead to the inefficient delivery of services. It would also create a significant imbalance in the local taxbase; a County Unitary with a taxbase of c810,000, and Derby City Council with a taxbase of only 270,000, with little space for growth.
“Across the wider East Midlands, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and likewise, Leicester and Leicestershire, are engaging in discussions between the respective city and county councils to restructure their local authority frameworks, with a focus on creating more efficient and cohesive unitary systems.
“Consequently we are still open to meeting with the Leader of Derbyshire County Council for future discussions around LGR, as although our current positions aren’t aligned, we firmly believe this would be in the best interests of the residents that elect us and use our services, and the businesses that rely on us to support local employment and drive economic growth.”
Joint statement issued by Amber Valley Borough Council, Bolsover District Council, Chesterfield Borough Council, Derby City Council, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Erewash Borough Council, High Peak Borough Council, North East Derbyshire District Council, South Derbyshire District Council
