Lincolnshire authority rejects local government reorganisation plans

North Lincolnshire Council has said it does not support any local government reorganisation proposals for its county, arguing the public has no appetite for a 'super council'.

Lincolnshire is among the 21 local government areas to have submitted interim plans to be part of the Government's reorganisation programme in March this year.

Plans for reorganisation among the county's 10 local authorities have been disjointed, with a number of differing proposals being submitted to the Government.

In a statement published on Wednesday (28 May), North Lincolnshire Council's leader, Rob Waltham, rejected the prospect of reorganisation completely, stating that feedback from residents "was clear that there is no support for a large council to take over North Lincolnshire".

He added that residents were against reorganisation if it meant the end to initiatives like the council's free car parking scheme in Ashby, Brigg and Scunthorpe, its imagination library scheme that provides books to young people, its community grant funding or road investment.

"We know that many residents value what we do here in North Lincolnshire and we are keen to make sure we continue to support our communities, making sure that we continue to create better paid jobs, invest in support for leisure and play facilities and to keep listening and working with local people," Cllr Waltham said.

He later added: "Great things are happening locally and the thought that super councils could undermine this great work and ignore the views of our residents and communities is a distraction that we will no longer have."

Cllr Waltham said he had received support for the decision from the area's members of Parliament.

Adam Carey