Councillors in Lincoln debate the possibility of moving to just one authority for the whole county

Councillors have objected to the possibility of a county-wide authority which would ‘drown out Lincoln’s voice’.

The government is reorganising authorities into larger bodies, with each area only having one level of council rather than the current two.

The city’s Labour and Liberal Democrat groups have said they would stand against a ‘mega council’ that covers the entire county.

However Conservatives say that a single-tier unitary body would be simpler and more efficient.

A Liberal Democrats motion warning of a “mega council” was passed at the full council meeting on Tuesday (January 21).

Councillor Martin Christopher (Lib Dem), seconding the motion, said: “The promise of streamlining is alluring, but our current experience with the county leaves much to be desired.

“We don’t want our city needs overlooked in a unitary council dominated by rural areas.

“There’s a risk Lincoln’s voice will be drowned out and its identity eroded.”

Council leader Naomi Tweddle said she “agreed with the principle” that Lincoln shouldn’t belong to a county-wide body.

However, she said it was “premature” to write to the government or other council leaders, as the motion had originally asked, and suggested that they wait for more details.

The Conservative group came out strongly in favour of a unitary authority, saying the county council already carried out the vast majority of work.

Group leader Councillor Tom Dyer described the motion as “scaremongering.”

“We’re already part of a mega council – Lincolnshire County Council – which takes care of our highways, social care and children’s services.

“To claim decisions would be made by remote people hundreds of miles away is ridiculous.

“People don’t care what council makes decisions – it’s just ‘the council’. We need simplicity.”

Councillor Hilton Spratt (Con), who said he’d campaigned for this since the 1980s, added: “This would mean fewer councillors – the general public might not think that’s a bad thing.”

The leaders of Greater Lincolnshire have expressed interest to the government in the area being split into two authorities.

It’s unclear exactly what form this would take, or when the government will announce the next steps of the progress.