As part of its devolution plan, the government wants all two-tier areas to be replaced by unitary councils, with populations of at least 500,000.
It also wants to see the formation of strategic authorities – groups of councils with a total population upwards of 1.5 million, potentially with an elected mayor.
Worcestershire County Council leader Simon Geraghty has said there is a “strong case” for a Worcestershire unitary authority and has asked the government to postpone May’s local elections.
QUESTIONS: Cllr Mel Allcott (Image: Submitted)
At a full county council meeting on Thursday (January 9), Cllr Mel Allcott asked: “Can you provide details of which strategic partners you have been speaking with, since when and for how long, if they have been engaging with you and, if so, what is the plan?”
Cllr Geraghty said: “If we want to unlock devolution in our area to the most ambitious aims, we’ll have to start thinking about devolution on a wider footprint.”
He said that first, the county needs to “get on” with creating a Worcestershire unitary authority as these are the “building blocks” for strategic authorities.
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“We’ll have to work with at least three other partners in my view unless they are larger-sized councils – but we have to get the unitary issue dealt with so we can move on.
“So my approach, along with the chief exec, has been to reach out to other councils and council leaders because we’re all in a similar position.”
Cllr Geraghty said Warwickshire and Gloucestershire councils were submitting requests to the government to postpone local elections in May.
“We’re discussing with the County Councils Network, we’re talking to our district colleagues and those discussions will continue,” he added. “This is just the start of the journey.”
Cllr Allcott said: “My understanding is Malvern, Redditch and Wychavon districts are not in favour of being undemocratic and cancelling the May 2025 elections and do not want to see a botched, rushed, ill-thought out unitary for the residents of this county pushed through.”
Cllr Geraghty said: “It wasn’t our plan to bring on this, but we have to respond to the circumstances in which we find ourselves and that is to get on with the job of creating a sustainable unitary council for Worcester.
“One that can sustain the shocks we have – all the issues in terms of budgetary pressures, all the demand-led pressures.”