War of words erupts over local government shake-up (From Warrington Guardian)

War of words erupts over local government shake-up

A POLITICAL dogfight has erupted over plans for the future of Cheshire's local authorities.

Council leaders in Crewe and Nantwich have accused their county council counterparts of scare-mongering to get their way in the forthcoming council shake-up.

A review is now under way into the possible new arrangements for Cheshire's local councils, should people vote in favour of an elected regional assembly in the autumn.

Should the plans get approval in the referendum, the borough and county councils will be merged into a single tier of all-purpose councils.

The leaders of the six borough councils say they should each merge into pairs, creating three separate authorities. In this case Crewe and Nantwich could be merged with Vale Royal.

But county council leaders favour it as the sole unitary council for the whole of Cheshire, claiming the mergers would be expensive to fund.

Borough council leader Peter Kent said: "The county council's claims about extra costs are moving into fantasy land - and we can prove it.

"They tried the same tactic in the '90s when local government was last under review.

"They said then that tax bills would go up by £100 a year if unitary councils were created.

"We can actually test whether that claim was valid because two parts of Cheshire - Halton and Warrington - did become unitaries. And what has happened?

"People living in Halton pay £106 a year less and in Warrington they pay £138 a year less than people living in Crewe and Nantwich.

"So the county's prediction then has been turned on its head by the hard evidence of what people actually ended up paying. And there is no reason to believe the propaganda this time round either.

"Clearly, the county council is worried that, if it becomes the only council for Cheshire, keeping in touch with its two-thirds of a million people will be a problem.

"Presumably that is why it has been making vague statements about holding meetings in the middle of the county to overcome this.

"If they are serious, then this means expensive new headquarters being built somewhere. So is it a serious proposal or just a gimmick to confuse people?"