Sunday 5 October 2014

Weekend Read: Time for a Rural Northumberland Council?

Last week I called on Northumberland County Council to provide "a fair and equal" settlement across Northumberland if it goes ahead with plans to divide up the Council's workforce and move its headquarters from Morpeth to Ashington.

In case you'd missed it Labour are seemingly determined to build themselves a new £40 million white elephant headquarters in Ashingston and it seems will say and do anything to get it. My view is that if Labour want to scrap County Hall at Morpeth then in that new settlement Tynedale deserves a fair and equal deal, not one that is in a different league to what they are planning for Ashington. The decision on moving to Ashington has already been called on to be deferred by the Council's own Economic Prosperity and Strategic Services Scrutiny Committee.

Before Labour blow £40 million of Council tax payers money building a brand new headquarters in Ashington I think it's time for a public debate on the kind of Council we want and need.

One of the options which could be considered alongside the Council's proposed move to Ashington, is instead splitting the County Council into a Rural and Urban Authority.

The truth is when it comes to this Labour County Council, Ashington and Blyth come first and everywhere else gets what's left, if anything. Why should the new settlement for Hexham, Morpeth or Alnwick be so much less than what is being proposed for Ashington? Why should almost a thousand Council jobs and £72 million of investment be put into Ashington and only the promise of 200 jobs for Hexham?

We do not have to settle with what we've got or what Labour is offering us. By scrapping County Hall and moving the Council's power base to Ashington they are proposing to fundamentally change the way the County Council is run. I think we need a public debate on those changes.

Big changes to local government are now becoming a reality across the country. In Chorley, for example, they will soon be having a vote on whether to break away from County Council control and set up as a single Unitary Authority. There is no reason we can't do a similar thing here in Northumberland. Why should Hexham settle for just getting a few jobs back while the whole County Council moves lock stock and barrel to Ashington?

If Labour truly want to devolve power and jobs from the present arrangements then all proposals should be considered. I don't just want a few jobs back in my area I want them all back. Perhaps now that Labour are wanting dramatic change it is time to consider whether the current County Council should be made into two Unitary Authorities, one urban and one rural.

One suggestion is that a new unitary authority, perhaps using the old District Council boundaries, could take over services now provided by Northumberland County Council. Hexham certainly has a lot more in common with Morpeth or Alnwick than it does with Ashington or Blyth.

A Rural Northumberland Authority covering West and North Northumberland would give people back a Council which worked for them, listened to their concerns and didn't ignore them in favour of the urban South East. It's also worth noting it is what local people voted for in the 2004 referendum. The result was 51,560 in favour of a single Unitary Council and 66,140 in favour of a Rural Northumberland Council and a Urban South East Northumberland Council based on the old district boundaries. The Rural Northumberland Council would cover the former district areas of Alnwick, Berwick, Castle Morpeth and Tynedale and the Urban Northumberland Council would cover Blyth Valley and Wansbeck.

Size isn't an issue as there are similar small Unitary Authorities around the country, there are now many smaller Unitary Authorities represented by two MPs such as Blackburn Unitary Authority and Warrington Unitary Authority.

A good comparison is perhaps Bournemouth Council. Bournemouth Council is now a unitary authority in its own right, although up until 1997 it was an administrative district council within Dorset. The population of Dorset is 180,000. The population of a Rural Northumberland Council wouldn't be too dissimilar at around 140,000.

I passionately believe in localism and that the best possible decisions are those that are taken locally, with true local interest at heart. When people come up to me in the street and ask how on earth it is fair the Labour County Council can increase our Council Tax, move the Council to Ashington and then spend £74 million on Ashington Town Centre, I have no answer - because quite simply it isn't fair.

If Labour want to change the way the Council is run by shifting the Council to Ashington perhaps it is time for the rest of County to look at what serves our interests best too and how we can return as many local jobs as possible. I don't believe that needs is a £40 million move to Ashington.

The Chronicle have covered the story here:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/mp-calls-northumberland-split-two-7835467