Districts pursue mergers with proposed combinations in Suffolk and Somerset

The pursuit of council mergers as a way of tackling the pressures of local government finances took a significant step forwards last week after local authorities in Suffolk and Somerset approved proposed combinations.

The Cabinets at Suffolk Coastal and Waveney District Councils unanimously approved plans for a new single council for east Suffolk.

Taunton Deane Borough Council meanwhile backed a merger with its neighbour, West Somerset Council. West Somerset is due to meet on 7 September 2016 to consider the proposal.

In Suffolk, the Cabinets of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney had met in March to consider five different options for partnership development. It was then proposed that a more detailed case should be considered for the preferred option of a formal merger.

The two councils have worked in partnership since first sharing a chief executive in 2008, and claim to have saved approximately £16m since 2010. The authorities believe further savings of at least £1.3m per annum will be achieved through a merger.

Under the proposals a new, single district council for east Suffolk would be in place from 2019. The plans will now be put out to public consultation. A final decision will be taken by both councils in January 2017.

In a joint statement the Leaders of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney District Councils, said: “This is an important step in the process of creating a new ‘Super District’ for east Suffolk”.

“As both councils along the east coast, we are facing a number of the same key challenges. The local government world is continually changing and with that comes the financial constraints and constant pressures on growth and infrastructure, housing demand and employment opportunities.”

The statement added: “We believe that despite these challenges, we have acted with both resilience and the capacity to adapt and change to ensure that they do not impact on local residents, businesses and tax payers.

“We believe merging the two councils will ensure we can make annual savings of around £1.3m and act with flexibility and agility to respond to future challenges and opportunities facing local government.”

Last week also saw councillors at Taunton Deane back plans for a tie-up with West Somerset. Two other options had been considered: one team supporting two councils; and the two councils progressing their own transformation agendas.

Taunton Deane said a merged council “would generate significant savings, estimated at a conservative £3.1m a year”. It acknowledged that there would be costs involved to implement the merger but added that the payback was estimated at just over two years.

Taunton Deane and West Somerset have been working in partnership with a single officer team for the past three years.

Cllr John Williams, Leader of Taunton Deane, said: "The proposal for transformation is radical and will bring change on a scale not seen before for our communities, our customers, our staff and ourselves as members.

"The decision is important, and will ensure we can continue to invest in our growth ambitions, deliver services to our public, and importantly, help us take a huge step towards having a financially sustainable future."

He warned that if West Somerset decided against supporting the merger, it would “inevitably trigger the third option with the councils taking separate routes to pursue their own agendas”.

Cllr Williams said the business case for a merger had been reviewed by Local Partnerships, the company jointly owned by HM Treasury and the Local Government Association, which “had found it realistic, deliverable and credible”.

If West Somerset approves the merger proposals next month, the councils will seek meetings with Government representatives in order to kick-start the process and the creation of a new authority.

The new council is likely to come into existence in 2019 when the next local government elections are due.