By Jamie Hailstone South Ribble BC and Preston City Council could be the latest local authorities to set out plans to break free from the two-tier system and become a unitary. Councillors at South Ribble BC agreed last week to hold a special meeting on 30 August to discuss merging into a single unitary authority with Preston City Council. Preston councillors will also hold a separate meeting the following day to discuss the issue. ‘A unitary council covering South Ribble and Preston would be more responsive to the needs of local people,’ said South Ribble council leader, Cllr Howard Gore. ‘A new council would also put the area on the map, allowing us to compete for external funding and resources, and provide a strong voice in the North West and nationally.’ The leader of Lancashire CC, Cllr Hazel Harding, said the two councils were ‘jumping the gun’. She said: ‘David Miliband came here to listen to the people of Lancashire and my reading of it is the Government is looking for bigger councils to go unitary, because the costs are absolutely crippling,’ she said. ‘We had a council tax increase in the year when Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen went unitary of 14%, and the vast majority of that was picking up the cost from those councils going.’ In a joint statement, leaders of the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative groups on Preston City Council, said: ‘We believe Preston has a compelling case to become a unitary council, and we are already building up a strong base of evidence to support our unitary ambitions. ‘Each council will now have to consider its position and decide the best way forward for securing unitary status for the city, and the wider area.’ j.hailstone@hgluk.com
