Council tells Secretary of State it will fight the Boundary Committee proposals for local government in Norfolk

11 August, 2008

North Norfolk District Council has told Secretary of State Hazel Blears of its great dismay at the Boundary Committee's proposal that a single unitary authority should be in charge of local government for the whole of Norfolk plus Lowestoft.

The Council considered the Boundary Committee's announcement at a special meeting at the end of July, voting unanimously to formally oppose the proposals and to work with other district councils in Norfolk to build a consensus on an alternative.

"This is a very bad proposal. It's bad for the people of Norfolk and bad for democracy itself. We are not against change and can see real opportunities for improvement and efficiency gains, but absolutely not through the Boundary Committee model, which we conclude is wrong for so many reasons," said Virginia Gay, Leader of North Norfolk District Council.

A copy of the letter sent by North Norfolk District Council to the Rt. Hon. Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government follows.

The report to Full Council on 24 July referred to in the letter is available here:
www.northnorfolk.org/council/committees.asp

At that meeting, the Council resolved unanimously to:

a) Formally state our opposition to the Boundary Committee's proposals and to respond to the Boundary Committee accordingly with evidence supporting this position.

b) Work with the other district councils to challenge the inadequacies of the proposal and to build consensus on an alternative way forward.

c) Authorise the Local Government Review Member/Officer Working Group to coordinate activity between Council meetings within the context of 4.4.2 above and specifically:

• to support a judicial review of the process jointly with other district councils subject to a favourable opinion from Counsel of the likelihood of success
• to commission a critique of the Boundary Committee proposal jointly with other district councils to cover arrangements for democratic and community engagement, strategic and service infrastructure and affordability

and to give delegated authority to the Working Group to make further financial commitment from the earmarked reserve for LGR of up to £25,000.

d) Advise local stakeholders of our position and to explain why the proposal is opposed.

e) In order to ensure that the best interests of the residents of North Norfolk are reflected in any final new arrangements should the Norfolk/Lowestoft option proceed, to cooperate with all levels of local government to work up the detailed proposals.

f) Communicate our recommendations to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and to the Prime Minister.

The letter to Hazel Blears:

PHILIP BURTON
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Email: philip.burton@north-norfolk.gov.uk
Direct Line: (01263) 516017
Fax: (01263) 515042

6 August 2008

Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Communities and Local Government
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU

Dear Minister

Local Government Review in Norfolk

At their meeting on 24 July, North Norfolk District Council considered the Boundary Committee's proposal for a new unitary council to cover the whole county area of Norfolk and the Lowestoft part of Waveney District Council.

It was agreed that I should send you a copy of the Council report together with the resolved recommendations. North Norfolk District Council has engaged in the review process and submitted a proposal together with three other Councils for a three-unitary solution for Norfolk. We are dismayed at the dismissive attitude of the Boundary Committee and the absence of any feedback whatsoever on why our proposal was not taken forward. It is clear that none of the submissions to the Boundary Committee has been evaluated against the five key criteria for success and this factor undermines the whole process as we have no way of being able to make relative judgements between the Boundary Committee proposal and the various other options put forward and discarded.

Our views are expressed clearly in the accompanying report. We believe that the concept of a single unitary council covering 2,500 sq miles and a population of 930,000 moving rapidly to 1 million flies in the face of much of what the government is promoting around local empowerment and revitalising local democracy. We are now having to muster resources to fight this proposal when we should be applying ourselves to delivering services and improving the quality of life enjoyed by local residents. We are not against change and can see real opportunities for improvement and efficiency gains but absolutely not through the Boundary Committee model which we conclude is wrong for so many reasons.

You are on record as having dismissed the case for a whole Cheshire unitary council as it would be too big, perceived as remote and would inhibit the delivery of neighbourhood empowerment. Cheshire has a population of 686,000 and is geographically much smaller than Norfolk/Lowestoft. We therefore ask you to intervene to stop this proposal progressing any further, and to prevent us from wasting time and diverting resources from where we should be applying them for the benefit of our community. If unitary structures in Norfolk are inevitable, there are far better solutions than those currently placed on the table by the Boundary Committee.

Yours sincerely

Philip Burton
Chief Executive

ENDS