Spalding could get its own town council as part of devolution shake-up

A new town council could be created as part of a major political shake-up.

South Holland District Council leader Nick Worth has confirmed that the proposal to set up an authority to oversee the running of Spalding will form part of a devolution proposal submitted to Government.

Spalding currently has a town forum where councillors and figureheads share ideas. However, it has no powers of its own and all proposals have to be rubber stamped by SHDC.

Labour set out its intention to replace district and county councils with larger unitary authorities late last year, each serving a population of around 500,000.

These are expected to be established in 2028.

Interim proposals from local authorities were submitted by March 21, and the joint submission from South Holland and East Lindsey District Councils proposed creating two unitary authorities for Greater Lincolnshire.

The northern authority would include North and North East Lincolnshire, West Lindsey and the City of Lincoln, covering a population of 531,000.

The southern authority would comprise North Kesteven, South Kesteven, Boston, East Lindsey and South Holland, serving 574,000 people.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Coun Worth said: “Spalding is a big town and it needs to have a local council.”

He added that ownership of key assets, such as Ayscoughfee Hall, could be transferred to the new authority once South Holland District Council ceases to exist.

At a South Holland District Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday (May 6), members approved the creation of a £175,000 budget for the Local Government Re-organisation process, should the council need to engage external expertise to support development of the final submission.

The authority is also working with East Lindsey District Council to share resources and reduce costs.

“Essentially, we want to get cracking because we haven’t got a lot of time to put together a proposal,” continued the Conservative leader, who also noted that although Government funding has been set aside for the re-organisation, it remains unclear how it will be distributed.

“At the end of the day, the government is doing this because they aren’t going to be handing out any more funding to local government.”

He described the re-organisation as ‘a way of saving money without paying out any more’.

A report to members outlined that of the £175,000 budget, officers anticipate £35,000 will be used for project management, with the remaining £140,000 allocated for proposal development.

This will cover the evidence base, financial analysis, governance arrangements, and community and stakeholder engagement.

Coun Worth said one of the main topics discussed at the meeting was the potential impact of re-organisation on parish councils.

As a result, he has pledged to work with the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils to help co-ordinate the process.

“There is a feeling from Government that they are pushing power down, and rightly, parishes are concerned about whether they are going to get things pushed on them with no extra money,” he added.