Confusion hits council shake up
A shake-up of how public services from bin emptying to road building are delivered across south Norfolk was thrown into confusion this week.
Court of Appeal judges partially upheld a legal challenge spearheaded by three Norfolk district councils, including South Norfolk and Breckland, against a new local authority model for Norfolk, which would spell their extinction if it goes ahead.
But the Boundary Committee, which last week announced draft proposals for a single Norfolk unitary council, or a greater Norwich and rural Norfolk unitary council, said the process was not derailed and would stick to its timetable to produce a final recommendation by July 15.
But South Norfolk Council leader John Fuller said the Boundary Committee had been "thrashed" in the Court of Appeal and their legal challenge had been "totally vindicated" after the councils were awarded a third of their legal costs.
The court ruling included a requirement of the Boundary Committee to make the financial implications, including the impact on council tax and how long the costly process would take to pay back, much clearer.
Speaking to the Diss Express yesterday, Boundary Committee spokesman Gareth Nicholson said they would be producing a simple one-page document this week spelling out how the change would affect the public's wallets.
Responding to claims the Boundary Committee was not offering keeping current council status quo an option, he said: "What the Court of Appeal judgment said was we need to take all representations into account and factor in support for the current system."
Breckland Council leader, William Nunn, said: "The latest twist in the farcical process has lost the Boundary Committee any remnants of credibility it may have had.
"The important thing for Norfolk people to bear in mind is that while it is not being promoted by the Boundary Committee, there is a third option on the table.
"To let the existing councils get on with the job of delivering excellent services, without wasting tens of millions of pounds on unnecessary reorganisation."
Mr Fuller added that the process may even be delayed until the next General Election – which will be at the latest next June – when, if the Conservatives take power, they are committed to quashing the review.
Local government secretary Hazel Blears will make a final decision whether to go ahead on July 15.
Your views can be made to the Boundary Committee online, or write to: Review Manager (Norfolk Review), The Boundary Committee For England, Trevelyan House, Great Peter Street, London, SW1P 2HW. Deadline is May 14.
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Weather for Diss
Thursday 02 September 2010
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 19 C
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
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