Greater Essex councils submit interim plan for local government reorganisation
An initial plan setting out how Greater Essex councils could best respond to the challenge from government and achieve more for residents and businesses, has been shared with the Government.
Interim plan
The 15 councils and the office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, developed the joint, interim plan for local government reorganisation in Greater Essex.
The plan has been considered by all 15 councils during their respective council meetings over the last 2 weeks. All 15 agreed the initial plan should be submitted to the Government.
Although the plan does not include final recommendations for the future structure of local government in the area, some councils have expressed an in-principle preference to work toward 5 new unitary authorities for Greater Essex.
Ensuring residents are best served
Epping Forest District Council’s Leader, Councillor Chris Whitbread is reserving judgement on how many new unitary councils should replace the old structure. He said:
We are all interested in ensuring our residents are best served. That means creating organisations that meet their needs now and well into the future.
There is a balance to be struck between keeping services local and ensuring councils are big enough to deliver services efficiently and cost-effectively. They must be financially sustainable.
The government says it generally wants to see new councils of about half a million residents, but it is open to discussion on smaller councils in special circumstances.
I would not support any number of unitary authorities until we have the evidence. We can then create new councils that are financially sustainable and able to deliver the services our residents deserve. We should not have to wait too long. A great deal of work is already going on behind the scenes to gather the data and crunch the numbers.
Once we have that information, we will be better placed to see what special circumstances apply and commit ourselves to a particular number.
Final business case
The interim plan was considered at meetings held by each of the 15 councils in Greater Essex, prior to it being submitted to Government on 21 March 2025.
Work will now continue up to September to inform a final business case. This will be submitted to the government in line with its 26 September deadline.
The Government will decide what the final structure will be for Greater Essex councils.
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