Did fear of a ‘urban’ -v- ‘rural’ unitary council split scupper Conservative plans for a unitary county council?

The Nottinghamshire unitary county consultation report/summary/analysis makes interesting reading, An idea that was obviously gaining ground was that the more urban councils should split from the more rural councils.

There was less support for one county-wide unitary council than two councils. To quote from the report:

‘Overall, there was much more support for two unitary councils than for one (64% favoured two, while 36% favoured one). There was also more support for two in all seven of the districts/boroughs. The views of local authority staff were somewhat more evenly divided: 47% preferred one and 53% preferred two unitary councils.’

Also:

‘A North-South split would be distinctly unpopular with political leaders across the districts. A West-East split would be much more politically acceptable because it would reflect the aspirations of local political leaders and create two ‘harmonious’ unitary authorities. A single UA – though much the best solution in terms of service delivery and financial viability – might have difficulty in achieving effective political majorities or working arrangements between the different parties The east of the county would be fearful that it was ‘subsidising’ the poorer west.’

Broxtowe depends on Nottingham and now the county’s plans are dead Nottingham can happily back off and there will be no more talk of mergers with surrounding councils by the city, although the county’s more urban councils might still like to be free of the county’s more rural councils.

Perhaps a Broxtowe-Ashfield-Gedling (eventually unitary) ‘partnership’ council might emerge from all this, able to work with the city, given they share so many common interests. We shall see.

In the meantime a link to the consultation report:

http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/1727147/opinionresearchservicesreport.pdf


The following two tables from the Report may be of interest (click on images to enlarge):

Notice that some of those responding lived in Nottingham. Some Voluntary sector participants were of the view that district and parish councillors were more supportive of their activities than county councillors — hence the opposition to one unitary Nottinghamshire council.

Notice to low level of participation in the survey by younger people. Older folk are cursed for participating and blamed for determining the future of young people. In truth, younger voters hold the future in their own hands. They had every bit the same opportunity as a 70 year old to participate. Maybe we need to wear badges saying 'I'm voting. Will you?

A map showing Beeston in relation Broxtowe Borough Council and Nottingham City Council wards plus the Parliamentary case for Beeston going with Nottingham

A few days ago, in my last blog, I posted the first version of the map below. Here is the 4th version and this is how it will stay bar tweaking. Over the next week or so it will be joined by versions showing the total electorate in each ward, the area covered by the annual Beeston & District Heritage Open Days programme and a Council Tax version based on Band 'A'.

In addition there is the fact that in September just gone  the Government accepted the Boundary Commission's report on proposed new Parliamentary constituencies which MPs will have to agree, assuming the Government proceeds with trying to get the new constituencies in place for the next General Election. This will lead to the new Nottingham West and Beeston constituency, which includes all the Broxtowe Borough Council Beeston wards and the Attenborough & Chilwell East ward — yet further (and strong) evidence of the argument that Beeston should join with Nottingham City Council.

Click on the map to enlarge.

A new graphic Beeston - Broxtowe - Nottingham ward map – a work in progress

I still have some graphic tweaking to do but I think the motorway and the railway lines are self evident. The orange lines show where buses go to and from Beeston including Derby Road and Queens Road as both are in Beeston wards and its historic parish. One thing is startling clear — no buses go to the north of Broxtowe Borough.

Once you start looking at Beeston in relation to Broxtowe Borough it becomes clear that the links with Nottingham are social, historic, cultural, economic, and with Nottingham University too. 

Yet another important link between Beeston and Nottingham is the new proposed Parliamentary constituency of Nottingham West AND Beeston. The fact that boundary commissioners accept the link adds weight to the argument that come the demise of Broxtowe Borough Council Beeston should join with the already unitary Nottingham City Council and not the proposed unitary Nottinghamshire Country Council.

The other great advantage of joining with Nottingham (given that Broxtowe Borough Council's days are limited — hence the Conservatives supporting Nottinghamshire County Council's plan to merge with all the county's district councils to create a unitary council) is that the City Council is already a unitary council and for Beeston to join the City will save a whole load of money.

Over the coming days and weeks I will develop my arguments, even get a banner made of this map and it spin-offs. I believe maps and graphics make the case I am arguing easier to understand.

Comments welcome.  I am planning to add ward electorate numbers and Band 'A' council tax rates (the largest band).

I hope you find this map interesting. Updates will follow next week. For the next few days I have other things I need to do.

Robert Howard