| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk 09:43 - May 4 with 910 views | Pinewoodblue |
Suffolk:
The existing district and borough councils, along with the Suffolk County Council, will be replaced by a unitary council or multiple unitary councils.
A directly elected mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk will be responsible for strategic policy areas and devolved government funding.
The new mayoral authority will operate separately from the unitary councils in terms of service delivery.
Suffolk's district and borough councils have submitted interim proposals expressing a preference for multiple unitary councils.
The government is also planning to postpone Suffolk County Council's May 2025 elections to facilitate the transition to the new system.
Presumably this will result in a Greater Ipswich Unitary council, rather than a singular authority for the whole County.
Is everyone happy with one mayor to cover both Suffolk and our northern neighbours. Where would you base him, or her! |  |
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 11:35 - May 4 with 778 views | runaround |
I do think a “Greater Ipswich “ unitary authority will better serve the people of the area as they will have many of the similar issues such as A14 Orwell Bridge , areas of deprivation etc whilst councillors making decisions on those issues that are based in say Newmarket or Bungay will just not get what it’s really like as it doesn’t effect them. |  | | |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:15 - May 6 with 547 views | flykickingbybgunn |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 11:35 - May 4 by runaround |
I do think a “Greater Ipswich “ unitary authority will better serve the people of the area as they will have many of the similar issues such as A14 Orwell Bridge , areas of deprivation etc whilst councillors making decisions on those issues that are based in say Newmarket or Bungay will just not get what it’s really like as it doesn’t effect them. |
But in the same way how is somebody from Ipswich going to know about Bungay, Newmarket, Haverhill, Lowestoft or Sudbury.
A mayor for Suffolk, Norfolk or East Anglia is just another pointless level of bureaucracy.
A waste of money. |  | | |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:23 - May 6 with 522 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:15 - May 6 by flykickingbybgunn |
But in the same way how is somebody from Ipswich going to know about Bungay, Newmarket, Haverhill, Lowestoft or Sudbury.
A mayor for Suffolk, Norfolk or East Anglia is just another pointless level of bureaucracy.
A waste of money. |
With a 2 tier system the bulk of the money goes to the County Council.
In order to make any significant savings a Unitary Council needs to have at least 500,000 population to make it worthwhile.
Realistically it needs to the whole of Suffolk, less perhaps Lowestoft. | |
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:34 - May 6 with 501 views | DJR |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:15 - May 6 by flykickingbybgunn |
But in the same way how is somebody from Ipswich going to know about Bungay, Newmarket, Haverhill, Lowestoft or Sudbury.
A mayor for Suffolk, Norfolk or East Anglia is just another pointless level of bureaucracy.
A waste of money. |
I am not sure whether it has been widened in recent years, but the A140 has always suggested to me that there is very little in the way of economic links between Ipswich and Norwich.
That being the case, creating a mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk seems to me rather artificial and misconceived.
The same is not true for, say, the mayor of Greater Manchester. [Post edited 6 May 9:35]
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:49 - May 6 with 442 views | bournemouthblue |
A Greater Ipswich Unitary Authority is what Ipswich needs but won't necessarily get sadly, the Borough Council does run almost all it's own things and normally quite well
Suffolk County Council is hungry for a full power grab of the whole county but I'm not sure I would trust them to run a bath
The third way which is more complicated given it divides counties would be an Ipswich and Colchester based Council comprising South East Suffolk and Tendring |  |
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:49 - May 6 with 441 views | SaleAway |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:34 - May 6 by DJR |
I am not sure whether it has been widened in recent years, but the A140 has always suggested to me that there is very little in the way of economic links between Ipswich and Norwich.
That being the case, creating a mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk seems to me rather artificial and misconceived.
The same is not true for, say, the mayor of Greater Manchester. [Post edited 6 May 9:35]
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The mayor of Greater Manchester presides over a population of nearly 3 million people across 10 metropolitan boroughs, and has driven a great deal of investment and improvement across the region, things like properly integrating the transport system etc. I'm not sure that those sort of strategic developments can work across a couple of counties, with a population half as big.... the variety of services needed between for example a small farming community and a city are such that I think the unitary authority might struggle to make the same gains.... |  |
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:51 - May 6 with 436 views | bournemouthblue |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:23 - May 6 by Pinewoodblue |
With a 2 tier system the bulk of the money goes to the County Council.
In order to make any significant savings a Unitary Council needs to have at least 500,000 population to make it worthwhile.
Realistically it needs to the whole of Suffolk, less perhaps Lowestoft. |
So you'd give away Suffolk's second biggest Town
East Suffolk is possible but suffers many of the problems as giving Suffolk County Council the whole of Suffolk [Post edited 6 May 9:52]
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 10:37 - May 6 with 337 views | Durovigutum |
I am close to unitary formation elsewhere.
The "rules" are that a unitary must be economically viable with enough "space" to grow and a balance of capabilities to ensure delivery. 500k is seen as a "viable" population size for economies of scale.
All unitary authorities created so far have followed district council boundaries inside a county council overlay.
Personally I look at Suffolk and think "Ipswich capital of the East, Bury St E of the West, draw a line down the county along the A140 and have two authorities.
The closest you can get to that is West Suffolk District and Babergh District as West and Mid Suffolk, East Suffolk and Ipswich District as East.
That Ipswich is then "split" on the southern boundary is a bit odd and makes strategic planning harder - for example West Suffolk builds a hugh housing estate near Sproughton but provides little infrastructure as "Ipswich East can sort it".
The same problem pops up on all boundaries - Cambridge to Newmarket, St Neots to Beds, Peterborough to Yaxley.
I think one unitary for all of Suffolk is too big. |  | | |
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 10:37 - May 6 with 336 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:51 - May 6 by bournemouthblue |
So you'd give away Suffolk's second biggest Town
East Suffolk is possible but suffers many of the problems as giving Suffolk County Council the whole of Suffolk [Post edited 6 May 9:52]
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Suffolk has a population of around 775,000, Norfolk over 900,000. Suffolk is growing faster than Norfolk.
The government seem to suggest the optimum minimum size for a unitary authority is 600,000. The final decision will presumably be made in Whitehall. Split Suffolk in two and both are too small.
Suffolk has an identity which would be lost if boundaries are mucked about with. Personally I would prefer to keep a two tier system but extend the Ipswich boundaries and reduce the number of District Council in the County. For example Babergh & Mid Suffolk complete merger. | |
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| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 11:12 - May 6 with 305 views | EdwardStone |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 09:49 - May 6 by bournemouthblue |
A Greater Ipswich Unitary Authority is what Ipswich needs but won't necessarily get sadly, the Borough Council does run almost all it's own things and normally quite well
Suffolk County Council is hungry for a full power grab of the whole county but I'm not sure I would trust them to run a bath
The third way which is more complicated given it divides counties would be an Ipswich and Colchester based Council comprising South East Suffolk and Tendring |
Didn't SCC have the fragrant "Arrndrea" as the Chief Exec a while back
The one who spaffed a quarter of a million quid on a full length portrait of herself with none of the other officers seemingly raising a quizzical eyebrow at this extraordinary use of chargepayers money
I have never really trusted their judgement since those days |  | | |
| Local Government reorganisation Suffolk on 14:05 - May 6 with 192 views | flykickingbybgunn |
The last time Local Authorities were reorganised was in 1974.
I was with East Suffolk when it was merged with West Suffolk and some jobs from Ipswich.
It was great for staff over 50 because their contract stated that if there was a major change to their employment then they had to be offered redundancy and early retirement.
The net result of that was that most of the top people left and cost a fortune in redundancy payments and pension being paid up to 15 years early. It helped the level below that as they all took the top jobs. However at the bottom, where the actual work was done lost out big time.
I believe the age limit is now raised to 55 but even so it is going to cost a lot in terms of cash and efficiency.
If it aint broke .... | | | |
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