The Green Leaders of Forest of Dean District Council and Stroud District Council have confirmed that they remain open to considering the options for one or two unitary councils in Gloucestershire.
The proposals setting out the current options about how local government in the county should be reorganised, were submitted to the Government on Friday (March 21).
Cllr Adrian Birch, Leader of Forest of Dean District Council, said: “We are open to considering all the options for new unitary councils and supporting the one which gives the best future for our local communities.
“In recent weeks, there’s been much discussion about the one-unitary and two-unitary council proposals, but it’s too early to decide which one to go for, in the absence of more evidence about their impact on local services and democratic representation. Wide community and stakeholder engagement will also be essential to inform our final decisions ahead of the deadline in November.”
Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of Stroud District Council, added: “The bigger picture for devolution, and arguably the more important decision for Gloucestershire, is which strategic authority we want to align with, as that’s where any additional powers and funding will be secured for the county. All the evidence we’ve seen so far points to Gloucestershire joining the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).
“This would allow us to stay connected to our regional capital in Bristol and to remain within the South West region. We have strong ties to WECA through alignment of our economic sectors, joint projects, and our shared West Country identity. This alignment would also build on the work of the Western Gateway pan-regional partnership, which strengthened working across the West of England region and Wales.”
Both the Forest of Dean and Stroud district councils have agreed to consider any future unitary council options in relation to a set of principles, in addition to the Government’s tests for financial viability.
These principles include: maintaining delivery of council services at a local level; securing economic prosperity which meets the needs of all, particularly the most vulnerable; a focus on long-term effectiveness not just short-term savings; protection of the environment with ambitious nature recovery and climate action; recognition of our strong local identities; support for parish and town councils and the voluntary and community sector; a balanced structure which does not exacerbate wealth imbalances; and the strengthening of local democratic input and representation.
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Cllr Gareth Kitchen
