Row over rival Leicestershire devolution plans hots up

The government wants to streamline the structure of councils across the country and abolish the current two-tier set-up to reduce duplication of services and simplify the arrangement for residents.

Leicestershire County Council put forward a plan for a single Leicestershire council, a city council with extended boundaries and a separate Rutland County Council.

The leaders of the seven district councils, including Melton, and Rutland council, reacted with a joint-statement criticising the county’s plan as unwieldy and one which would not give communities a local voice.

They also slammed County Hall for going ahead with its proposal without talking to them and the district leaders also put forward an alternative plan which would spilt Leicestershire into north and south councils with Rutland being a part of the north council and the city council remaining as it is with current boundaries.

But county council acting leader Councillor Deborah Taylor said today that it was the district leaders who failed to engage properly with County Hall before coming up with their proposal.

She offered an olive branch, however, and invited the seven leaders to meet with County Hall representatives on March 6.

Councillor Taylor said: “Rather than the district councils seeking to engage with the county council, the reality was that they chose to exclude the county council from their meetings.

"I’m aware that the district councils have said they have ‘appraised all options’ and have opted for a north/south split of the county. At no point have they published any details of this proposal.

“That’s why I’m calling for a meeting on March 6 so all of this can be discussed, transparently and openly.

"The county council’s proposals for single unitary council outside of the city was already on record and I note that the district councils’ proposal for a unitary structure, which does not include an extended city boundary, announced last Friday, was never discussed with the county council.”

The county council is urging Leicestershire residents to give their views via its online consultation – click HERE to complete the short survey by March 18.