Today (Thursday) is D-Day for councils up and down the country, racing to get their unitary submissions in on time. At least nine county councils and eight district councils look set to bid for unitary status, as part of the Local Government Bill. Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire CCs have abandoned plans for unitary status last week and will instead go for enhanced two-tier status. ‘Councillors recognise that there has been no widespread support for a unitary Nottinghamshire, particularly among the partner organisations we need to work with,' said Nottinghamshire council leader, David Kirkham. North Yorkshire CC voted on Tuesday to bid for unitary status. Norwich City Council has submitted two bids to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Chief executive, Laura McGillivray, said one bid was for the city to become a unitary and keep its present borders, and the other was for a larger authority, taking in areas of Broadland DC and South Norfolk DC. But the leader of Norfolk CC, Shaun Murphy, has warned that a new authority would ‘tear the heart out of the city'. Staffordshire CC and Mansfield DC have also decided not to go for unitary status. Councillors at Mansfield DC also agreed to write to Ruth Kelly and express their disappointment at the short timescale for applications. South Somerset DC has launched a rival to Somerset CCs unitary bid, with plans of its own for an east Somerset single authority. Members of West Somerset DC met yesterday (Wednesday), after The MJ went to press, to discuss plans for a west Somerset unitary. Oxford City Council has published plans to reorganise the entire county, with three unitary authorities to replace the existing structure. One authority would cover the city, while South Oxfordshire DC would merge with Vale of White Horse DC, and Cherwell DC would join up with West Oxfordshire DC.The DCLG will publish a shortlist of councils which will be considered for unitary status in March, before making a final decision in July.
