Government hit with fresh legal challenge over reorganisation in Essex

Announcing the judicial review on Wednesday (22 July), Harlow's Reform council leader Dan Swords said the Government's timetable for replacing the county's two-tier authorities with five new unitary councils is "simply not deliverable".

Swords said Harlow had examined the Government's proposals in detail and had taken extensive legal and professional advice.

He added: “Having carefully considered the government's rationale and the process being followed, we've reached a clear conclusion.

"This process is deeply flawed. It is rushed. It lacks proper evidence, and it risks creating huge disruption for local communities. And if it goes wrong, it won't be the government that pays the price. It will be Harlow, and that price is not small."

He said that expert advice suggested reorganisation will cost Harlow "10s of millions of pounds", and complained that the council would have to pause a significant proportion of its work to focus on reorganisation.

Harlow joins several other councils to have launched legal proceedings against reorganisation decisions, including Essex County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council.

Adam Carey