Leader's blog - w/c 17 March 2025
"On Friday evening, I attended a surprisingly lively debate at St Laurence Church in Stroud, about proposals for local government changes, with a cross-party panel of MPs and local councillors. The Church was packed, and there was clearly a lot of interest in hearing about options for new unitary councils to replace the district and county councils, discussing where Gloucestershire should partner at the regional level, and whether the ‘metro mayor’ model, with one person taking responsibility for transport, housing, planning, skills and more, is really the best way to make decisions for local communities.
One theme that shone through was the desire of the people attending to have their say on what happens here in Gloucestershire.
The debate was timely, since this week the six districts and county council will meet to agree an ‘interim plan’ on local government reorganisation in Gloucestershire, to submit to Government on 21 March. Full proposals will follow in November, with the timescale for implementation of any future changes still to be confirmed.
Our interim plan will be more a ‘work in progress’ than a finished proposal and will note the three options currently being considered: a single unitary council, two unitary councils, and two or three councils based on a ‘Greater Gloucester’ area.
The Government’s main motivation for changing council structures is to achieve financial savings, given all the pressures on social care spending. However, there is also a requirement that any new unitary council should ‘enable stronger community engagement and deliver genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment’. This test will certainly be front of mind when Stroud District Council meets on Thursday evening. You’d be very welcome to join us in person or online."
Leader, Stroud District Council