Money-saving council alliance set to end

A money-saving alliance between two councils in Staffordshire and Derbyshire is set to come to an end – due to the forthcoming overhaul of local government. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and High Peak Borough Council have been working together in a ‘strategic alliance’ since 2008, sharing staff and senior managers while retaining separate elected members.

The alliance has saved the councils more than £15 million, and a peer challenge report in 2022 praised it for being at the ‘forefront of creative thinking’. But the partnership is unlikely to survive the government’s reorganisation of local councils, which could see SMDC abolished or potentially merged with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The Labour government wants to replace two-tier local councils with a single layer of unitary authorities, which it says are more efficient. A full merger between SMDC and High Peak as a new unitary council would likely be unacceptable to the government, as it would cross county and policing area boundaries.

The combined population of the Moorlands and High Peak, at around 190,000, would also be far below the 500,000 minimum the government expects the new unitaries to have. SMDC leader Mike Gledhill said he would be sad to see the alliance end, but suggested that the lessons learnt from the partnership could be applied to the reorganisation of councils in Staffordshire.

He said: “With a population of 95,000 the Moorlands is too small to be a unitary authority, and, unfortunately, we cannot continue our Alliance with High Peak Borough Council as that crosses the devolution boundary into Derbyshire. So, we look forward to working with our Staffordshire partners to deliver the jobs, public transport and housing in the right places across a wider area in the future.”

A report published by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which proposes a North Staffordshire unitary council covering Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle and the Moorlands, makes a similar point.

It states: “The Government’s policy on Local Government Reorganisation does not favour unitary councils that cross county boundaries, which suggests that it is unlikely that the two councils in the Alliance could form the basis of a new unitary council. Furthermore, the Police Act 1996 prevents a local authority from spanning more than one policing area.

“However, the knowledge, expertise and experience gained by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council in this partnership would be a significant asset in a North Staffordshire Unitary Council.”

Meanwhile, the city council’s proposals for a North Staffordshire unitary is continuing to provoke strong reactions from politicians in the area.

Councillor Mark Deaville, county councillor Cheadle and Checkley and cabinet member for strategic highways, described the plan as ‘complete nonsense’ in Facebook post.

He said: “No one wants this other than the government (who don’t give a monkeys about the Staffordshire Moorlands) and a few Labour councillors. This is the worst thing that could happen to the Moorlands and to Newcastle. I shall fight this with everything I’ve got. I would have thought the Government have much more important things to think about at present.”

Staffordshire Moorlands councillors will discuss reorganisation options at a special meeting on March 5. Cabinet members at Staffordshire County Council will also meet to discuss the issue on March 5, ahead of a full council meeting on March 13. The government has set a deadline of March 21 for councils to submit outline proposals for reorganisation.