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Meeting called to talk about ending Rutland’s independence




Rutland County Council will discuss its future at a special meeting about devolution being held next month.

The council’s leader Gale Waller (Lib Dem - Normanton) has been in talks with neighbouring Leicestershire for a number of years about devolution, but following the Labour Government’s devolution white paper last month, talks have intensified and widened and there have now been informal chats with neighbouring South Kesteven District Council.

The Rutland council, which is the smallest unitary authority in the country, has decided to call a meeting on February 11, so that all 26 members of the council from across the political groups can make their views known. The Government has said it wants unitary councils to be about 500,000 population in size, which would mean Rutland merging with one or more neighbours.

Rutland County Council and inset, leader Gale Waller
Rutland County Council and inset, leader Gale Waller

Possible options for Rutland could include joining with Leicestershire councils or looking east, although that is unlikely to happen within the next two years.

Coun Waller said in a statement released today: “Devolution has the potential to be beneficial for our communities but only if done in the right way. This is why we want to engage positively with the government and our near neighbours.

"Together, we are among the councils who need to explore reorganisation before we can consider progressing onto devolution – this remains the focus of our discussions.

"To move forward with local government reorganisation, further work is needed to develop firm proposals that explore all options.

"We need to consider evidence around the critically important relationship between scale and physical geography.

"As I have said previously, councils perform best when their boundaries reflect the way people live their lives.

“We must have a confirmed position on reorganisation before we can agree to devolution and we must explore all options in a way that is led by evidence.

"The government has indicated that interim proposals for reorganisation need to be submitted by March – although we’re still waiting for confirmation of the precise date.

"It is important that councillors who represent our communities here in Rutland are able to publicly debate and discuss what’s being asked of us, which is why a special council meeting is being convened.”​

The meeting will take place at 7pm. It follows on from a meeting that being held by the county’s MP Alician Kearns at Victoria Hall in Oakham High Street on January 27. The MP says she is concerned about the future of the county and wants the public to have a say in its future.



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