Rutland County Council has drafted its official response to government plans to merge local authorities in the region.

The proposed shake-up could see the creation of just two or three councils covering the whole of Leicestershire and Rutland.

There are three proposals for change in Leicestershire and Rutland:

• two councils with an expanded Leicester city boundary and a single council for the rest of Leicestershire and Rutland (Leicester City Council's proposal)
• two councils with one single council for Leicestershire and Rutland and one for Leicester on its existing boundary (Leicestershire County Council's proposal)
• three councils with a council for north Leicestershire and Rutland, a council for south Leicestershire and one for the city on its existing boundary (Rutland's proposal)

The final proposal – known as North City South – is favoured by bosses at Rutland County Council.

It would see Rutland join Charnwood, North West Leicestershire and Melton to form a bigger council for North Leics and Rutland.

The south Leics council would encompass Blaby, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Oadby and Wigston.

In the official response to the government's consultation, Rutland County Council said it strongly disagreed with proposals from Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council.

Bosses said: "Rutland fully supports the North City South (NCS) proposal. It is the only model developed collaboratively by all councils in the area – including Rutland – and is the only proposal that maintains Rutland's boundaries, identity, rural voice and capacity to influence local decision-making.

advertisement

"Three mid-sized councils strike the right balance between efficiency and local responsiveness. This avoids the risks of over-centralisation seen in the County proposal and the fragmentation of the City proposal.

"The NCS model enables rural and urban service design to coexist appropriately. It allows for place based and neighbourhood level models and maintains strong local democratic accountability."

In the document, the council argued that its own proposal was the only option that:

• maintains Rutland's borders and identity
• reflects rural character and community voice
• provides balanced and sustainable governance
• minimises disruption and transition risk
• supports functional local economies
• creates conditions for strong devolution arrangements

The report was presented by council leader Gale Waller (Lib Dem) at this week's cabinet meeting. Councillors voted to approve the response and submit it to the government consultation by March 26.

The full response to the consultation can be found here.