Council leaders from Stratford District Council & Warwick District Council have announced that their longstanding merger proposal will not go ahead.
The Green group were the only group to vote against the plans late last year.
Green Party Councillor Will Roberts said:
“This is good news for residents, even though it appears to have happened because of Conservative infighting. We voted against this merger because we weren’t convinced that the claims made for change added up and were worth years of cost, chaos and disruption. The merger would also have moved decision-making further away from those affected by the decisions. Local democracy has been eroded by successive governments and we need to protect residents’ rights to decide locally on the future of their communities.
Now we have to ask what has happened? Why have suddenly the two Conservative administrations suddenly pulled back? It seems to me that the ongoing Conservative infighting over control of Warwickshire Councils has taken another twist and turn, when the focus should always have been on recovering from the pandemic and improving residents’ lives.
This merger has already caused unnecessary disruption, cost the taxpayer thousands and affected the ability of council officers to focus on their roles to help residents of Warwick District. Councils can work together to deliver better services for residents without merging – let’s hope the two administrations now get back to focusing on the day job rather than unnecessary grandiose plans.”
The Green party were the only party to unanimously vote against this merger when it was put before Council. The Lib Dems decided to support the Conservatives and Labour took no position by abstaining
