Rutland councillors need to make their mind up quickly and decide between Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, says South Kesteven District Council leader
A council leader is urging colleagues in Rutland to quickly make their mind up over whether they want to team up with Lincolnshire or Leicestershire.
A recent Rutland County Council survey found that most residents would prefer to merge with south Lincolnshire, rather than with local authorities in Leicestershire, as part of a major shake-up of the local political scene.
But South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter (Independent) said that the Rutland authority has not made commitment to joining either of its neighbours.
Rutland's final proposal will be put forward at its full council meeting next month - but this is only a week before the deadline for the plan to be submitted to the Government on November 28.
Coun Baxter said: “As leader of South Kesteven, I really would encourage Rutland to be clear about their intentions because at the moment they haven’t committed to either project.
“If they commit to Leicestershire then that’s fine, we will continue to be good neighbours with them but we will then know the county council isn’t intending to work with us.
“But, at the moment, they are saying they are open to working with Lincolnshire and open to working with Leicestershire. They need to make a decision and they need to make it soon.
“We are working closely with our neighbours, particularly North Kesteven, to put together a sustainable and viable bid for south Lincolnshire.
“We would prefer that it includes Rutland but in order to work on that bid we need to know that we have Rutland’s support and currently we don’t. We are considering our options.”
The government asked councils across the country to put together plans to merge together into larger unitary authorities as part of the biggest shake-up to local government in a generation.
South Kesteven District Council has put forward a proposal for a larger South Lincolnshire and Rutland council, which would be made up of North Kesteven, South Kesteven, South Holland and Rutland.
A second council — formed of West Lindsey, East Lindsey, the City of Lincoln and Boston — would cover the north of the county.
But Coun Baxter told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the county council in Rutland hasn’t been clear about the proposal that it will put forward to the government.
He said: “In my opinion, it is definitely in the best interests of Rutland and south Lincolnshire to put forward a proposal which includes both those areas.
“We’re being told by the government to prepare proposals for large unitary authorities. My preference has always been for an authority composed of market towns and villages in south Lincolnshire and Rutland.
“Unfortunately, Rutland County Council seems reluctant to choose a preferred partner. At the cabinet meeting last week, they chose not to pick a preferred option but rather leave it until a meeting in November to make a decision.
“I fear that this will be too late and so I am urging colleagues at Rutland to be far more open about their intentions.”
He added: “Their intention is to leave it up to their councillors to make a decision one week before the government needs an answer. This is wholly impractical from our point of view.”