The potential creation of a one-tier mega authority for Essex—that would entirely replace the current county council and local councils— has been slammed by the leader of Brentwood Council.
According to a report in The Times last week, the government is planning to replace the district, borough, and county councils of Essex with a unitary system, in which a single authority would cover all local government responsibilities such as bin collections, planning, and highway maintenance for the entire county.
The report has also led to warnings the shake-up could lead to one dominant party ruling the whole county.
There are three Tory leaders, three Labour leaders, four independent leaders, and four Lib Dem leaders in Essex, which shows the county’s diverse political views.
The Lib Dem leader of Brentwood Council, Councillor Barry Aspinell ,said abolishing the two-tier system – with one county council and 12 districts beneath it – would reduce accountability.
Under the current system, district councils handle issues such as planning permission and bin collections, while the county council handles issues such as social care, education and highways.
Councillor Aspinell warned that with the county council now dominated by the Tories – a unitary authority with even more powers could also likely be ruled by the Conservatives.
Essex County Council is administered by the Conservatives, who have 50 of the 75 seats. The Lib Dems have eight, Labour six, and non-aligned or independent councillors number 11.
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Councillor Aspinell said: “I don’t believe that a councillor living in Bradwell can effectively represent residents in South Weald. It would be undemocratic locally. We are not talking about an insignificant number of people – 70,000 or 80,000 people live in Brentwood.
“It is not insignificant. In our area in Brentwood, we can cope with that. We can deliver their services. We could alter things to their benefit.
"If you get bigger than that, you lose that connection between your residents and those making the decisions. That’s what’s got [messed] up with Essex.”
Instead, Councillor Aspinell proposes abolishing the county council altogether and giving the 12 districts additional powers.
But he said services such as adult social care and education should be run more centrally, adding: “It’s public services that need to be reformed, not local councils.”
In September, Essex County Council submitted to the government an expression of interest in a devolution deal for the county and is currently working with Southend-on-Sea City Council, Thurrock Council and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner alongside city, borough and district councils to explore what a devolution deal could look like.
Councillor Kevin Bentley, leader of Essex County Council, said: “This is about our residents and businesses – we want better services and opportunities for them. That’s our ambition, and that is why we are enthusiastic about the potential of a devolution deal for Essex.
“We are awaiting the detail in the White Paper on local government reorganisation, but we look forward to working with the government and our partners on developing appropriate plans and doing so at pace.
“What we do know is that for reorganisation, scale matters. Unitary councils with smaller population sizes have struggled, which is why we believe the government will ask for proposals featuring populations of around 500,000.
“That will enable new councils to offer the best possible value to residents.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “No decisions have been taken on council reorganisation.
"Our priority is to focus on the transfer of power from Westminster and work with councils to create structures that make sense for their local areas and work effectively for local people. We will set out further details in the upcoming English devolution White Paper.”
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