The committee papers for the Cabinet meeting to take place at 6pm on Thursday 9 December have now been published.

The report - Proposal to create a South Warwickshire District Council - provides comprehensive evidence for elected members at Warwick District Council and Stratford-on-Avon District Council in relation to the proposal to create a South Warwickshire District Council. 

The main purpose of the report is to provide sufficient information to support councillors in making a decision on whether to formally submit a request to the Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to create a South Warwickshire District Council. 

The report contains several pieces of information and evidence including:

• Information about the newly established Joint Arrangement Steering Group
• Information about the establishment of a Programme Team
• Financial disclosure review by the Local Government Association
• Report from the Local Government Association in relation to the additional savings which can be provided through a constitutional merger
• Development of a Programme Risk Register in relation to the merger proposals
• Consultation exercise in relation to the proposal to create the South Warwickshire District Council
• Evaluation of options available to both councils 

Cllr Andrew Day, Leader of Warwick District Council said: “It’s encouraging to see that our residents and other stakeholders do see the need for change and clearly support the proposals to merge our Councils.  This positive feedback underlines the importance of working together to continue to improve our services in a fiscally responsible way.”  

“This independent consultation report provides councillors with a balanced and comprehensive view on the hopes and aspirations for our local government across South Warwickshire in the future.  Councillors now have all the information required, including insightful comments and suggestions gathered by the survey, to make their historic decision on the shape of local Government in South Warwickshire for the next 50 years.”

Cllr Tony Jefferson, Leader of Stratford-on-Avon District Council said: “Since the beginning of the year, additional research and evidence has been collected to enable both Councils to now consider whether we wish to make a formal submission to the DLUHC to create this new entity. 

“This is probably the most significant decision that either Council has had to consider since they were established in 1974.  We have to take this decision recognising that the world has changed massively since 1974. It is now up to us to make the right decision based on the information presented to us.”

Next Steps
A recommendation will be made by both Cabinets separately, either to formally request the submission of a business case proposal to the Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to create a South Warwickshire District Council, or to reject this proposal and this will then be considered by both Councils on Monday 13 December.