After months of campaigning and court hearings, Congleton BC's battle to stop it being abolished came crashing to a halt in 60 seconds. Lord Justice Carnwath took little more than a minute on Tuesday to dismiss the council's legal appeal in front of an almost empty court. The appeal was dismissed on all grounds unanimously by the three judges. The decision marks the end of a long legal battle, both by Congleton BC and Shrewsbury and Atcham BC, against reorganisation, which was backed by other district councils around the country. Congleton BC was also given £192,000 by other district councils to fund the appeal. No representatives from Congleton BC, which has itself spent £140,000 on the challenge, were present in court and nobody was available to comment as The MJ went to press. A CLG spokesman said: ‘We welcome this judgement, which upholds the earlier court's dismissal of Shrewsbury's and Congleton's challenges to our decisions, now approved by Parliament, to set up the new unitary councils. ‘Now is the time for all involved to concentrate on preparing for the new unitary councils, so that from the outset on 1 April 2009 these can be the flagship authorities we expect, pioneering new ways to empower local communities, to radically improve services, and to promote local prosperity.' The decision was also welcomed by Durham CC leader Albert Nugent, who said: ‘All the Durham councils can now move forward with confidence and unity to introduce unitary local government for their residents and local communities.' A judicial review brought by Bedfordshire CC over reorganisation is still outstanding and a decision is expected shortly. Councils in Shropshire have accused CLG of dragging its feet over the transfer of staff to the new unitary councils. Shropshire CC leader Malcolm Pate said he had written to John Healey over the matter, but was still waiting for a reply. Cllr Pate said the lack of information was creating uncertainty among council employees. But a CLG spokesman said: ‘It is important that we take the time to make the right decisions.'
