DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY!

The Consultation about the plans to merge Warwick District Council and the Stratford District Council closes on Sunday.

Make sure you have your say on the proposal by completing the consultation questionnaire by Sunday 24 October.

Responses will be used to inform Councillors when, in December 2021, they decide whether to make a submission to the Government for permission to merge and create a new District Council serving South Warwickshire.

The merger aims to save money but there are huge democracy and representation issues to consider too.

Further information is offered here by Councillor Jonathan Nicholls, Leader of the WDC Labour group:

1) If a full merger is approved between Warwick District Council and Stratford District Council, the elections for both Districts, currently scheduled for May 2023 would be postponed until May 2024. This would enable the Boundary Commission to determine both the number of Councillors to be elected in the new South Warwickshire District as well as any changes to Ward boundaries. It is likely that there would be a reduction from 80 Councillors serving the two Districts to something more like 60. In this scenario, a major concern would be a further erosion of democratic representation and accountability. Residents in the urban areas in particular could feel even less empowered and have even less say over decisions taken in a larger political geography that affected their Wards and neighbourhoods. Given the current political composition of both District Councils, Labour would face an even greater task to ensure that its voice and the voice of the residents it cares for most is heard and acted upon.

2) There are significant differences between the two Districts in terms of their culture, the assets they hold on behalf of residents, and the policies they have pursued. For example, Warwick District has >5000 council homes. Stratford District has none. Labour members in Warwick District will want to know whether what they have fought for, including fundamental issues like dealing with the climate emergency, more social housing, and inclusivity for all members of our community will be abandoned or diluted in a new Council.

Other points are offered by Councillor John Holland, Leader of the Warwickshire County Council Labour group:

Almost all of the problems residents have with poor quality work from our Councils is when they fall down the gap between the County and the District Council. Therefore the merger we need is between the County and the District Council.

A merger between WDC and SDC will make it harder to deliver good quality as Stratford councillors will be making uninformed decisions about Warwick.

The government has reduced the funding of WCC by 52%. Clearly it is not possible to maintain any sort of quality with a cut of that size. Further cuts will happen.