Will council shake-up see north of county left behind?

When the government announced its decision on how Nottinghamshire's political map will be redrawn, a lot of the initial reaction centred around the expanded boundary of Nottingham itself.

But what about the rest of the county?

Under the plans, the districts of Ashfield, Mansfield, Bassetlaw, and Newark and Sherwood will merge, along with those parts of Gedling, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe not joining with the city.

They will form a new "Nottinghamshire Council" - a unitary authority, meaning it takes charge of all council services in the area.

There are some who fear, however, that the boundaries will make it the poorer cousin of the new Greater Nottingham Council in the south.

The government has argued local government reorganisation (LGR) will streamline services, save money, and speed up decision making.

Shortly after the announcement was made last week, the Reform UK leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Mick Barton, raised concerns that the chosen model will leave the county financially imbalanced.

"I'm really worried for adult social care and special educational needs over the next five, 10 or 15 years," he said. "I don't think it's sustainable with that option."

It is a concern that spans party lines.

Leader of the county council's Conservative group, Sam Smith, said the decision will leave the new Nottinghamshire Council "at huge financial risk."

With half of affluent Rushcliffe set to join the southern unitary, the northern one will be "on the brink of bankruptcy from day one," he said.

"You still have, in Ashfield and Mansfield, 70% of the demand for adult social care and children's services, just with half the tax base funding it," he said.

"That will leave the county authority in a financial crisis, and the only way out of that crisis will be to charge residents more tax and reduce services."

He summed up the situation as "a disaster waiting to happen".

Labour's Andy Abrahams, meanwhile, believes doing away with the two-tiered system of local government will be beneficial, even though it means his role as the directly elected mayor of Mansfield will be scrapped.

He is concerned, however, about how the decision was reached.

"Because the expanded city option came very late in the day, the proper data analysis and assessment of what was left was never done as part of that process," he said.

"For me, that made the process not fair because you're meant to be comparing a like comparison, and not apples and pears."

He had supported "Option 1E", which involved a north-south split but along existing council boundaries.

Under this model, his district would have merged with Bassetlaw, Gedling, and Newark and Sherwood, while Nottingham, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe would have combined in the south.

Abrahams said this would be a more "sensible geography".

"How can you easily make a connection between the southern part of Rushcliffe and north of Worksop? It's quite tenuous to say the least," he said.

He added the northern council will require more funding to set up than its counterpart in the south, because the existing city council in the latter already has a unitary structure.

"We're talking about fairness and the north has never been treated fairly<" he said.

"Government need to recognise that and make sure we get that additional support because we've got the bigger challenge making our unitary work."

Paul Peacock, Labour leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said the government's decision was "disappointing" but he was "now looking towards making it work".

Like Abrahams, he had supported "Option 1E", but with the added nuance that he felt there should be a boundary review at a later date.

"We felt that was a balanced option and the best option for residents in Nottinghamshire," he said.

"Both unitary authorities in the 1E option would be financially sustainable, and I think there are some question marks over whether [the chosen model] makes things a bit tougher for the north.

"The north has got such a much larger geography to deliver services in and that makes it operationally more difficult."

He added, however, that the authority's financial viability was "not all about the council tax base".

Leader of Ashfield District Council and the Ashfield Independents Jason Zadrozny, meanwhile, said there is "definitely enough money" in the north and the council will be sustainable.

"One of the things that was absolutely set in government criteria was that all councils had to be financially viable," he said.

He highlighted towns and villages such as Worksop, Newark, Bingham and Ravenshead which will all form part of the northern unitary.

"It's quite a diverse council, it has huge areas of affluence as well as deprivation. The challenge is going to be for the new council: what are their political priorities?" he said.

"Clearly the northern council has social care as a massive priority. There is enough money, it's just about how you prioritise it and spend it on the right things."

The government has been approached for comment.

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