Decision made for single 'super council' to govern the whole of Leicestershire
Residents across the Melton borough will soon be governed by a single ‘super council’ as part of a national streamlining of local government, it was confirmed on Thursday.
The decision means Melton Borough Council and other district councils will be abolished when the new unitary authority takes control in April 2028.
Borough councils had favoured dividing rural Leicestershire into north and south councils with Melton and Rutland part of the northern authority.
But government officials have instead backed a rival county council proposal which will see the entire county coming under one single council.
It also been decided to significantly expand the boundaries of Leicester City Council to include Oadby and Wigston and parts of Blaby, Charnwood, and Harborough.
Melton Borough Council leader, Ronan Browne (Conservative), commented: “This represents the biggest change in local government for a generation and we now have clarity about the future structure of councils across our area.
"Right now our main focus is on ensuring residents continue to receive high quality services.
"Melton Borough Council will remain responsible for delivering local services and providing local leadership for the next 21 months, up to the creation of the new unitary councils in April 2028.
"During this time we will also work with our neighbouring councils and partners to ensure a smooth and well managed transition to the new unitary councils.
"This means ensuring we keep services close and connected to our communities, that we support our most vulnerable residents, and also that our staff are properly supported throughout this significant change.”
Former Melton Borough Council leader, Councillor Pip Allnatt, who is non-aligned after previously being part of the Labour group, was part of the group of district council leaders which came up with the ‘North, City, South’ proposal.
Despite this plan being rejected by the government, Councillor Allnatt told the Melton Times: “I am very pleased that the government has not accepted the arguments by Conservative and Reform councillors for a doughnut solution, which would have resulted in a takeover by a sclerotic and badly-led county council.
“In my opinion this decision could and should have been better, but half a loaf is better than none and our job is now to crack on.
"I want to thank all those councillors across party and council boundaries who supported our proposals and of course our hardworking senior staff, some of whom, will be considering their own futures.”
The Independent group of councillors on Melton Borough Council described the projected new structure of local government as ‘extremely disappointing’ and that it will mean local people will have ‘less of a say’ on local issues.
The group said in a statement: “We will have a new authority representing 534,000 people.
"Remote, out of touch and unable to understand local opinions and values.
“Insufficient local senior school places, lack of Special Education Needs and Disability provision, endless potholes and refusal to acknowledge the importance of a southern bypass are all products of an out of touch and cumbersome county council."
‘Shadow elections’ will be held next May to elect councillors for the new unitary authorities but it has not yet been confirmed how many councillors each will have.
Go to www.futurellrcouncils.gov.uk to find out more about the planned new structure of local government in Leicester and Leicestershire.