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Stamford chooses Rutland for local government reorganisation




An MP insists residents want Rutland and South Kesteven to unite in one of the biggest shakeups of local government in half a century.

After holding public meetings in Rutland and Stamford on the formation of larger, unitary councils, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns says the "almost unanimous view" among attendees is that Rutland should join forces with south Lincolnshire.

Local authorities had until Friday last week (March 21) to suggest where the boundaries of new councils should be drawn.

People at a Stamford meeting vote in favour of a council area that includes Rutland
People at a Stamford meeting vote in favour of a council area that includes Rutland

South Kesteven District Council suggested combining with North Kesteven, Rutland, and South Holland under one unitary authority. This would leave Boston, East Lindsey, West Lindsey, and the City of Lincoln as a separate single area. A third unitary authority would cover North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. They would serve populations of 405,519, 417,932, and 328,422, respectively.

At Mrs Kearns' meeting at Stamford Arts Centre on Thursday evening (March 27), a show of hands revealled people in Stamford wanted to unite with Rutland. A similar response was seen at Monday’s meeting at Oakham’s Victoria Hall.

When asked about the general consensus from both meetings, Mrs Kearns said: "A lot of people would say they would rather we were left alone, but that's not surprising — most people want government out of their lives.

Rutlanders in the Victoria Hall, Oakham voted unanimously for merging with South Lincolnshire rather than Leicestershire
Rutlanders in the Victoria Hall, Oakham voted unanimously for merging with South Lincolnshire rather than Leicestershire

"What has surprised me is that both tonight and on Monday, although tonight there has been a far more diverse range of views in the room, the almost unanimous view is that people want Rutland and South Kesteven to be together in any future reorganisation."

She said nine people out an estimated 60 or 70 people at Thursday’s meeting did not support Rutland and South Lincolnshire being in the same local authority.

The proposal previously faced criticism from Lincolnshire County Council leader Coun Martin Hill (Con), who argued that it did not meet Government criteria for local government reform, including a minimum population of 500,000 per unitary authority, and avoiding disruption to services or crossing county boundaries.

However, Mrs Kearns pointed out that one of Lincolnshire County Council’s own proposals also failed to meet the criteria.

MP Alicia Kearns addressing the audience at Victoria Hall, Oakham
MP Alicia Kearns addressing the audience at Victoria Hall, Oakham

The two proposals from the county council suggest merging North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire councils into a single northern authority, with the rest of the county forming another single council. The second proposal suggests merging North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire with West Lindsey and East Lindsey, while Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Kesteven, Boston, and South Holland would form another authority.

"There are two criteria that the Rutland and South Kesteven proposal doesn't necessarily meet, but if you look at Lincolnshire County Council’s proposals—because they put two forward—one of theirs doesn't meet the same two criteria either," she said.

"My view has been, I'm not backing a particular option; I'm saying we have to give residents a view. And thank goodness that option did come forward, because if I'm suddenly getting thousands of emails from residents in South Kesteven and a meeting in Rutland saying that's what they want, it shows there's support for it on the table."

One attendee criticised the proposal due to Rutland's reputation of having the highest council tax in the country, with residents facing an average annual charge of £2,671. He said: "SKDC will be hammered in council tax if it joins with Rutland."

Mrs Kearns said she didn't want anyone's tax going up, adding that Rutland's is high because its population of 41,000 people are paying for all the county's services. This could change if shared by a population of 400,000.

She added that funding from the Government for rural areas would determine people's council tax, and that since South Lincolnshire and Rutland had both been teated as 'cash cows', they would be better fighting for Government funding together.

Government feedback on interim reorganisation proposals is expected by April 28, with final proposals due on November 28.



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