Council offers assurance as North Kesteven residents are encouraged to engage on broad principles of local government shake-up
North Kesteven residents are being offered assurance that whilst proposed restructuring of local government escalates, the daily delivery of essential and important services by the District Council continues.
The Government has outlined its vision for all district and county level local authorities – including Lincolnshire County Council, NKDC and the other district councils in Lincolnshire – to be disbanded and replaced by new single, unitary councils that deliver everything that’s currently done by both types of council.
Each council was able to put forward its own proposal for how this might work for the whole of the Greater Lincolnshire area, which is currently covered by 10 councils.
There are four main proposals currently in play for Greater Lincolnshire and each one will be subject to a level of engagement by its proposer over forthcoming months as it is shaped and built into a final submission on which Government will decide the ultimate structure for local government in Lincolnshire from April 2028.
North Kesteven and South Kesteven district councils have jointly proposed a model of three councils for the entirety of Greater Lincolnshire. These would be mid-sized – each one bigger than the current district areas, but smaller than the entire county council area. They say this is in order to maintain optimum levels of democratic and local connectivity, effectiveness and efficiency whilst fulfilling Government objectives.
An overview of the North and South Kesteven position can be seen on the NKDC stand at the Heckington Show on July 26 and 27, where visitors can broaden their understanding and participate in an initial light-touch engagement through a simple survey.
The same survey can be accessed via the feature within the council’s own newspaper, NewsNK that is being distributed district-wide from July 21 and through the dedicated webpage www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/LGR
Council Leader Coun Richard Wright said: “It is important that residents understand that reorganisation of council functions and boundaries isn’t something that any of us have asked for. It’s not something we would have necessarily chosen to do, given everything else that’s pressing and important, but in order to make the most of it and shape a future structure that’s best for the people of North Kesteven and Greater Lincolnshire, we’re embracing it and advancing a proposal that we believe strikes the right balance.
“Residents may have seen headlines saying that the county council voted to abolish districts and heard about other options and councils getting ahead of themselves by aggressively moving in on district areas to consult early. I want to assure them and emphasise that we’re still here, doing what we do so well, running local services and scoping a plan to engage collaboratively, meaningfully and respectfully.
“Local Government Reorganisation represents a major shift in the ways important local services are delivered and there’s a lot to balance and get right to ensure it works for everyone. Over the autumn, we’ll be listening to local views on what people think the most effective size, shape and scope of the new councils will be. But for now, I encourage people to begin the process in simply understanding what the change represents by engaging on the wider principles, to hopefully better understand the various options that are still emerging, to later pass comment on.”
He admitted: “It’s fair to say that all of this does create a degree of turmoil and uncertainty, but here in North Kesteven whilst we have one eye on shaping the best outcomes from local government reorganisation, and are working with partner councils and sharing information and data as required, our absolute focus remains on delivering for our District of Flourishing Communities, on advancing our priorities, building economic resilience, creating sustainable communities and investing in homes and services.”
The survey can also be reached here: https://online1.snapsurveys.com/NK-LGR.
Factfile:
- Greater Lincolnshire has a population of 1.1m served by ten councils – Lincolnshire County Council, the seven district councils within Lincolnshire and the two existing unitary councils for North and North East Lincolnshire.
- One model proposes merging the current two northern unitaries into a single one for 328,400 people, and a second one on the footprint of the entire current county area of 783,000; covering areas of 1,000 sq km and 6,000 sq km
- Another splits the broader Greater Lincolnshire area into two more equal populations of 530,000 and 580,000 population in areas of 2,200 and 4,800 sq km
- Under NKDC’s proposal there would be three smaller councils of 405,500, 418,000 and 328,400 population and two lots of 3,000 sq km and one at 1,000 sq km under a model that could include Rutland too.
- Additionally, Lincoln has proposed an expansion of its area to 816 sq km with a population or 200,000; but has not yet said what happens to the other 900,000 people or 6,000 sq kms of Greater Lincolnshire.