Council backs surprise plan for 'One Derbyshire'

Derbyshire County Council leader Alan Graves received backing for his plan

Councillors at Derbyshire County Council have backed a proposal from Reform UK that there should be one council to run the whole of Derbyshire and Derby.

Local government in England is being streamlined by merging councils, with authorities due to send their proposals to central government.

The county's eight districts and boroughs, along with Derby City Council, have all suggested splitting Derbyshire into two - north and south - with small variations between the plans.

The county council had been expected to propose something similar but instead leader Alan Graves said his new vision was "one of those common sense decisions where residents would like us to grab the bull by the horns".

The plan to create the second biggest unitary local authority in England, serving over a million people, was carried through a full county council meeting by the Reform UK majority.

Many Reform UK councillors said they were unhappy with local government re-organisation but endorsed the plan for one united county as the best choice.

Other parties were almost completely united in their opposition, with speakers often focusing on the size of the proposed council.

Conservative Wayne Major said it was not actually common sense that a bigger council would be more efficient.

He told the meeting "as things get bigger, they get more bureaucratic and less nimble" and suggested Reform UK was "rolling over" for a Labour government.

"Why not stand up and say, we don't want this [local government reform]?" he said.

'Bottomless hellhole'

Fellow Conservative Nigel Gourlay used dramatic language to suggest that the city of Derby would dominate the new body.

"No-one who lives outside Derby would choose voluntarily to chain themselves to that hopeless pit of despair," he said.

"The city centre will suck the money out of my neighbours' pockets and cast it into a bottomless hellhole."

Graves, who is also a Derby city councillor, called those comments "disgraceful, disgusting... and shameful".

Anne Clarke, leader of the Labour group, said a single Derbyshire would struggle to stay in touch with its communities.

"We risk losing residents being heard and losing the voice of local democracy," she said.

Meanwhile Lib Dem Leader Ed Fordham said Reform's plan would be rejected by central government.

"I think there's a risk this plan will sink, will have been a waste of time and will make us look silly, frankly," he said.

Most opposition councillors in Derbyshire were against Graves's reorganisation proposal

Government guidelines for creating new merged local authorities say they should aim to create councils that serve half a million people or more.

A government minister described a population of 500,000 people as a "benchmark" with a history of new councils that size delivering improvements to services.

A new combined Derby and Derbyshire Council would be responsible for twice that number - 1,078,000 people - but Graves said a unified Derbyshire would be supported by residents and financially strong.

The county council's vote is advisory, with the final decision due to be taken by the authority's cabinet.

Final proposals are due to reach government on 28 November with the eventual shape of local government in Derby and Derbyshire being decided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

So far the public has not fully backed any of the proposals for Derbyshire and Derby.

A recent consultation found the idea of merging councils in the county had failed to win widespread support and the new idea of one authority for the whole area has not been fully tested with residents.