Dorset County Councillors have voiced a clear preference for changing the set-up of local government in the county from nine councils to two.
At a meeting of the full council ON 10 March, county councillors had the opportunity to openly debate six options for reducing the number of councils in Dorset, or not.
In an indicative vote on their preferred option, a clear majority of councillors voted to change to a model of two unitary councils, made up of either:
- One unitary council for the current county council area and one for Bournemouth and Poole (54 per cent of votes)
- Or one unitary council for the area East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset and Weymouth and Portland and one for Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch (41 per cent of votes)
The vote is not a binding decision for the council. The council voted unanimously do more work on the preferred options and a report will be brought to its next meeting with a view to developing a full business case.
And before the council makes any decision, local people will get the chance to have their say in a public consultation – likely to be held during the summer.
Cllr Robert Gould, leader of Dorset County Council said: “We had a thorough debate in which nearly all county councillors had their say. It was encouraging to see agreement that we need to change and do things better for the people of Dorset.
“We now have a clear consensus around having one, new council serving the whole ‘shire’ Dorset area, with an enhanced role for town and parish councils to deliver local services and strengthen their identity.
“This would simplify the structure of local government for residents, save money and help our case for a really ambitious devolution deal for Dorset.
“We will continue to work with the other Dorset councils to develop a solution for the whole county. A key part of this will be consulting with local people to make sure everyone has a chance to be involved.
“This is a great opportunity for the whole of Dorset to create something that supports the future needs and ambitions of the county.”
County councillors rejected the options for a single pan-Dorset unitary authority for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole, two other options for separate unitary authorities, and of making no change to the current structure. All councils are working together to agree on their preferred option before the business case is submitted to the Secretary of State at the beginning of next year.
You can join in the debate about the future of local government in Dorset on Twitter using the hashtag #LocalGovDorset.
