The following article appeared in the Eastern Daily Press on 8th May 2009

Seven Days to Save Norfolk

I’m born and bred in Norfolk. I’m proud of our local traditions and the decency of our local people and I’m afraid that the distinctive way of life in our County is under threat from government plans to abolish our local councils.

Let’s be clear.  Faceless Boundary Commissioners from London are advising the Government to create a single council in Norfolk that is twice the size of the Luxembourg and twenty times the size of Birmingham or a worst-of-all-worlds ‘donut’ arrangement that would surgically remove Norwich from the rest of Norfolk.

Under both plans, market towns and villages from Kings Lynn to Great Yarmouth, from Cromer to Diss have no choice and would be bundled together casting aside proud civic traditions and community interests by creating a “local” unitary Council that would be over 70 miles wide.   

We know that creating these one-size-fits-all councils is horrendously expensive.  When they did it in Northumberland last year the original cost of £18m escalated to £55m.  When they created a unitary authority in Cornwall the costs rose from £19.3m to almost £60m.  And, by law, local people have to pick up the bill at a time they can least afford it.  Everybody I speak to knows that now is the worst possible moment to embark on yet another risky public sector reorganisation

The Government’s own expert has said that local government overhauls have never led to lower council tax bills.  And it’s easy to see why:  Last week the new unitary council in Cornwall advertised for a series of area supremos as they desperately sought to recreate the links with local communities that they had just abolished!  In Bedfordshire they halved the number of local councils but then doubled the salaries of the senior officials that remained!  What a waste of time, effort and money!

But it’s not just about the money.  Local councils do so much more than collect the bins or sweep the roads.  When times are tough local people need local Councils and local Councillors to fight their corner.

In a Norfolk council 70 miles wide, there would be no room for the single parent with family commitments or the well-meaning local activist with a few hours a week to serve by standing for election as a councillor. We know from elsewhere that large Unitary councils would be run by a new class of full-time, professional politicians on bumper salaries.  That’s the last thing anybody wants.

And when I talk to people around the county about the government’s plans for Norfolk they almost all say exactly the same thing... “John, we agree with you!  The present system works well and is improving all the time but because the government is determined to introduce unitary status, we have no alternative but to sign-up for the least-worst option.”

Well I have a message for the naysayers and the pessimists.  I didn’t become a local councillor to settle for the “least-worst” option.  I won’t settle for “second best” and I don’t see why anyone else should either.

Quite simply, The Boundary Committee have taken the wrong path.  They have failed to understand that people near Thetford don’t care too much about sea defences along the coast or that residents of Winterton aren't really concerned about economic development in King’s Lynn.  

They have failed to realise that now is not the time to reward those who have comprehensively mismanaged the city of Norwich being rewarded with even more responsibilities.  Most importantly, they have failed to understand the value of the representational democracy based on historic boroughs and their hinterland that has served Norfolk people for almost 900 years.

So now it’s is the responsibility of all of us to tell the Boundary Committee that we will not settle for either of their plans.   We all have until next Friday to tell them that we will not accept their second-best.

Simply stated, we have just one week to tell them that the present system of local government in Norfolk works quite well enough thank you and we will not stand for the pattern of life in our County being lost in an act of wanton vandalism that will ill-serve ourselves, our children and grandchildren.  



The LGR consultation ends on 14th May.  Send an email with your views to the Government’s Boundary Committee - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with a copy to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 
Cllr John Fuller is leader of South  Norfolk Council working with other Councils to Keep Norfolk Local  www.keepnorfolklocal.com