Javid backs plans for single new unitary for Buckinghamshire

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has said he is “minded to” back the proposal for a single new unitary council in Buckinghamshire.

In a written ministerial statement Sajid Javid said he had chosen the structure proposed by Buckinghamshire County Council ahead of a proposal for two unitaries put forward by the district councils of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, High Wycombe, and South Bucks.

The latter plan would have seen one council for the area of Aylesbury Vale and the other for the remainder of the current county area.

Javid’s decision is subject to Parliamentary approval and further discussions.

The Secretary of State said: “I am satisfied that this new single council, if established, is likely to improve local government and service delivery in the county, generating savings, increasing financial resilience, facilitating a more strategic and holistic approach to planning and housing challenges, and sustaining good local services. I am also satisfied that across Buckinghamshire as a whole there is a good deal of local support for this new council, and that the area of the council represents a credible geography.

“Whereas, I am equally satisfied that establishing two councils for the current county area is unlikely to improve local government in the area, generate significant savings, or provide the capacity to sustain major services or to address planning and housing challenges. I believe the areas of the two councils would not represent a credible geography or clear local identity, and that there is significantly less local support for two councils than for a single council. Accordingly, I am not minded to proceed with the proposal for establishing two councils.”

Javid said he was clear that in relation to establishing a single council further steps were needed to secure local consent amongst the local partners, and he expressed the hope that this ‘minded to’ announcement would facilitate the necessary discussions to deliver this local agreement.

Before he takes his final decision, there will now be a period until 25 May 2018 during which those interested may make further representations to the Secretary of State, including that if a proposal is implemented it is with suggested modifications.

The Secretary of State’s announcement was welcomed by the county council.

Leader Martin Tett said: “It’s really positive news that the government is minded to support our proposals for a single unitary council. The new council will simplify the current local government setup, save many millions of pounds to plough back into frontline services and enable services to be provided for residents at a truly local level.           

“We know there is widespread support for these proposals and we will continue talking with residents and a wide range of organisations across the county to ensure the new council benefits from their input and expertise as things develop.”

The county claimed that the new single unitary council would provide services “at a very local level” for residents, who would be able to access services via a network of community hubs in locations across the county.

The formation of community boards across Buckinghamshire would also “put real decision-making power in the hands of local people, empowering them to meet the differing needs of local communities”, it said. 

In a joint statement the four districts said they were “extremely disappointed” by the announcement.

They added that the "minded to" decision was “not set in stone”, and as the process allowed, they would be “making the strongest possible representations to the Secretary of State that this decision is not the right one”.

“We don't believe that this decision is in the best interest of our local residents, businesses, community groups, parish councils and various other stakeholders across the county and, based on our own engagement, we don't believe it has strong local support,” the districts argued.

They said they believed that a single large unitary would mean major opportunities would be missed and that a one size fits all model would not mean the best deal. “We also question the savings the single unitary model claims to deliver.”

The Buckinghamshire announcement is the fourth major local government restructuring backed by the Secretary of State recently, who has given the green light to the Future Dorset plan to replace nine authorities with two unitaries as well as the mergers of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney Councils, and Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury Councils, to create new ‘super-districts’ in Suffolk.

Last week one of the councils affected by the Dorset decision, Christchurch Borough Council, revealed that a legal opinion from Nathalie Lieven QC had concluded that there was no arguable error of law in the Secretary of State’s decision and therefore no cause of action.