Anger at ‘half-cooked and sloppy’ ‘Super Council’ proposals

Gedling Borough Councillors have voted in favour of a motion which opposes Nottinghamshire County Council’s plans to abolish the borough and district councils in favour of a single unitary council for the whole of Nottinghamshire.

The motion was presented to Gedling Borough Councillors at a Full Council meeting this week and called on the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor Kay Cutts, to “re-engage with leaders of all councils, work transparently and with a manner of mutual respect and to lobby central Government for fairer funding in the region instead of attempting to redraw council boundaries”.

The 35 councillors voted as follows; 22 in favour, 12 against and one abstained.

The motion follows a joint letter sent to the Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor Cutts, signed by five district and borough councils, that questions her decision to bring her motion for a single unitary council for Nottinghamshire to County Councillors calling it “flawed and inappropriate at such a significant time for the region”. The letter signed by the Leaders of Ashfield District Council, Bassetlaw District Council, Gedling Borough Council, Mansfield District Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council was sent to Councillor Cutts on 9 July asking her to withdraw the motion presented at Nottinghamshire County Council on Thursday 12 July.

Before the meeting, deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council, councillor Michael Payne said: “I am proposing this motion to make it crystal clear that we are opposed to the Leader of the County Council’s plans to abolish Gedling and create one super council for the whole of Nottinghamshire. This is an unwelcome and disappointing distraction at a time when councils are tirelessly working to make sure local residents are getting their local services delivered to them at a high standard. The Leader of the County Council, Councillor Cutts has failed to ask local residents for their views and has herself accepted that there’s currently no business case for it.

“We strongly oppose this ill-timed, half-cooked and sloppy proposal and we call on all Gedling Borough Councillors to do the same at Full Council on Wednesday.

“Our residents don’t want the risk of their council tax being sent out of Gedling and spent elsewhere. They want a local council that puts Gedling first – we will defend Gedling from this ridiculous, ill-thought-through attempt at a takeover.

“We will not allow the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council to use the residents of Gedling as pawns on a chess board. If she truly believes that the people want to scrap their local councils and replace them with one super council for Nottinghamshire she should give them a vote and let them have their say on the issue.”