Local government reorganisation in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is the only county in the South West region in which the local government administrative arrangements put in place in 1974 remain unchanged. Although the County is not in the first tranche of areas in England now under review, preliminary work has begun.

Gloucestershire County Council and the six District Councils, here in Gloucestershire, have recently written a joint letter to the relevant Minister which acknowledges that there is no unanimous agreement on a preferred option for the local government structure in Gloucestershire.

Instead, it sets out three possible arrangements; a single unitary authority to cover the whole county, two unitary authorities based on existing district boundaries covering east and west, and three unitary authorities including “greater Gloucester.”

CPRE Gloucestershire’s policy sub-committee met to discuss the issue and concluded that the single unitary option should be supported when consultation starts; on the grounds of cost, minimal disruption to services currently provided by the County Council, and as a means of improving the capacity to produce sound development plans in a timely fashion.