With seven weeks to go before the birth of two new unitary councils in Dorset it’s easy to understand why every waking moment is being focused on getting it right for 1 April.
With incoming chief executive for Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council Graham Farrant and his counterpart Matt Prosser at Dorset Council leading their teams (see accompanying articles), I’m sure it will be a great success.
In local government we are very good at achieving amazing things often taken for granted. The road to success and the obstacles overcome on the way are easily forgotten in the hurry to move on to the next mission.
Looking back to 2015 when the idea of local government reorganisation in Dorset hit the headlines, I could see a host of challenges – and each one could have halted us in our tracks. Here are a few.
In September 2015 the local newspaper got wind of talks involving four of the nine councils in Dorset. The front page proclaimed: ‘Exclusive – Super Council’. Despite feeling left out, the other five councils, including the county council, came to the table for discussions. The leaders and chief executives agreed to work together to develop options for future of local government in Dorset that would benefit residents.
In 2016 there was a disagreement about the options to consult the public on. A compromise was reached. Each council accepted an option they didn’t like – but got the one they were least keen on.
Early in 2017 one borough council decided to oppose the reorganisation. Two more were equivocal. Despite this, all nine kept talking to each other. The chief executives continued to work together.
When the Government lost its majority in June 2017 it became much more sensitive to the views of individual MPs – one of whom opposed the reorganisation vigorously. This led to a delay of nine months and huge uncertainty. Despite this, we went ahead to set up joint committees to plan the new councils.
In February 2018, the secretary of state announced a final decision to go ahead with the local government reorganisation. Legislation followed in May. But we weren’t home and dry yet. The borough council which opposed the plan applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the decision. A case to support the decision was prepared quickly by the councils supporting and opposing the reorganisation. More uncertainty was created. Relations between the councils were tested, but our mutual respect and trust survived in good shape. The court dismissed the application.
Lessons learned on the way include: geography matters as does clarity of purpose; teamwork at the top by leaders and chief executives is vital; keep a sense of humour when patience runs out, and, above all – persist!
It is to the credit of members and officers throughout Dorset that we are still on target to change this April from nine councils in Dorset to two. Let’s not forget that.
Andrew Flockhart is chief executive of Poole Council
