Proposal
The Strategic Aims Of Our Proposal
The aim is to provide an affordable local government structure that will be fit for purpose for the 21st century.
The challenges we face are to:
- provide strong and effective leadership that empowers local people and creates a strong voice in the wider region and with national government
- create opportunities for people to achieve their full potential
- enhance and protect places which people value and in which they can prosper
Our proposal challenges the view that current Cheshire is a meaningful sub-region in which to administer local government or forge an effective vision for its future. It contains two sub regions that reflect distinct socio economic features, which complement the two wider citycentred regions of Manchester and Liverpool. They have independent catchment areas relating to housing, shopping, leisure, travel to work and economic development.
This is reflected in the changes to historic Cheshire in the last 40 years. In 1974 large parts transferred to Wirral and South Manchester; in 1995 Halton and Warrington achieved unitary authorities. The remains of Cheshire should do likewise now with two authorities for its two sub regions. Historic Cheshire is still a reality for people who have not lived in administrative Cheshire for over 30 years, and it will remain a reality for everyone in historic Cheshire after this change now.
We aim to transform local government in Cheshire for the benefit of its residents, partners including government, those who work in it or with it and the wider region and country. We propose a structure that:
- avoids the costs, confusion, complexity, inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the two tier system
- is based on natural sub regions in which people live, move around and work
- will provide strong and effective strategic leadership from local authorities serving sizeable populations and with sizeable resource bases
- means they are still sufficiently close to the people who elect councillors to provide effective local government
- that complements and derives benefits from the city regions of Liverpool and Manchester (Map 2)
- focus appropriately on regeneration & development for their own different areas and for the North West Region and the Northern Way
- can secure excellent public services in areas that are largely co-terminous with other public, voluntary and private agency boundaries
- provide logical areas for LAAs and the basis for MAAs within wider sub regions and city regions
- have cohesive and understandable boundaries that will survive into the future and within which the interests of diverse communities can be reflected in how local government works
Our vision is for the long term and our proposals create two authorities that will be capable of sustained innovation and progress into the future.
We will not spell out the problems of two tier local government in detail. The White Paper says enough and the invitation for authorities to consider unitary solutions itself speaks volumes. The financial case we are submitting could stand alone as a further justification but we wish to stress that any change must continue to give Cheshire’s residents the benefits of local government. It must not just save taxpayers money while depriving 680,000 people any chance to influence and call to account those who are responsible for most of the services that shape their daily quality of life.
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