Issue - meetings

Report of the Leader, Councillor Rowena Hay

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the completed final business cases and supporting documentation relating to:

a.    a single unitary for Gloucestershire - appendix 3

b.    a two unitary East and West Gloucestershire - appendix 4

c.    a two unitary Greater Gloucester/Gloucestershire - appendix 5

d.    stronger places, stronger Gloucestershire – the case for East and West Gloucestershire - appendix 6

is noted;

2.    the decision is made to support the following Local Government Reorganisation Business Case as part of the submission to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG):

-     a two unitary, East and West Gloucestershire as detailed in the business case in appendix 4

3.    responsibility is delegated to the Leader of the Council, in consultation with the Chief Executive, to finalise and agree the joint letter and submission, alongside other Gloucestershire Councils and submit to MHCLG on or before the November 28 2025 deadline. 

The Leader of the Council introduced the report and made reference to the thorough debate at the Extraordinary Council meeting the previous day, which had highlighted all the issues involved. While the Council was requested to vote on an advisory basis only to Cabinet, there was overwhelming support for the two-unitary East and West Gloucestershire model.  She reiterated that Cabinet was voting for CBC’s preferred business case, which would then be submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, where the final decision for Gloucestershire will be made. 

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the completed final business cases and supporting documentation relating to:

a.    a single unitary for Gloucestershire - appendix 3

b.    a two-unitary East and West Gloucestershire - appendix 4

c.    a two-unitary Greater Gloucester/Gloucestershire - appendix 5

d.    stronger places, stronger Gloucestershire – the case for East and West Gloucestershire - appendix 6

are noted;

2.    the decision is made to support the following Local Government Reorganisation Business Case as part of the submission to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG):

-     a two-unitary East and West Gloucestershire, as detailed in the business case in appendix 4

3.    responsibility is delegated to the Leader of the Council, in consultation with the Chief Executive, to finalise and agree the joint letter and submission, alongside other Gloucestershire Councils and submit to MHCLG on or before the November 28 2025 deadline. 

Report of the Leader, Councillor Rowena Hay

The Leader introduced the report, which she said had been an absolute Herculean effort over the past few months, to provide the information and detail requested by the government.  Although the borough does not welcome local government reorganisation, it is not in our control, and ironically the government will decide what shape local government in Gloucestershire will take, while badging the initiative as giving people greater powers.   She has fought for what she believes is the best option and in the best interests for Cheltenham’s residents and businesses, and tried to ensure that Cheltenham’s voice is heard. 

Whatever the outcome, the council will continue to work in a collaborative way and in partnership to deliver the best for our town, but working in collaboration requires compromise, so rather than try to highlight the key points of many hundreds of pages of business cases today, she would explain from the heart why her core liberal values make her believe that two unitaries – East and West Gloucestershire - is the best option for Cheltenham and the county:

-       business cases are not statements of fact – they are opinions, underpinned by financial assumptions, and the same data can be used as the basis of very different proposals;

-       there is no doubt that one big council can try to ensure that local residents’ forums and parish networks go some way towards mitigating the loss of local councils, but why take risk?  A fundamental Liberal belief is to always aim for the most power at lowest level and on this measure, two unitaries are the only choice for Gloucestershire;

-       the maths is simple – in a future East Gloucestershire Council, almost 50% of the councillors will represent Cheltenham; in a single unitary, it will be only 25% who are able to speak for our town.  This will result in a dilution of our power and influence – over Cheltenham’s culture, festivals, investment, sense of place – and cannot be supported;

-       we currently have an urban-centred, rural-blind government, hostile to town and parish councils,  which wants to reduce power to neighbourhood talking shops with no power to create change. This is a top-down, civil servant-led artificial construct,  based on population size and service delivery assumptions, trying to boil down the creation of new councils to some sort of technical procurement exercise. We have played our part and worked hard to make our case, but no civil servant can override our knowledge of our wards over the decades;

-       the current two-tier system has its faults, but recognises the diversity of place across the county, and can flex to the vast differences, delivering local politicians with the power to shape place.  Whatever option is chosen, the result will be a council many times bigger than what we have now, and faced with that choice, we must choose the smallest viable option to ensure that decision-making and power remain as close to residents as it can.

She ended by saying this is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12