Lib Dems respond to unitary announcement

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 8th Jul 2008

Map of Norfolk

The Liberal Democrat group on Norwich City Council have responded with disappointment to yesterday's announcement by the Boundary Committee that their preferred option is for one single unitary authority to cover the whole of Norfolk and Lowestoft.

Speaking after yesterday's announcement Councillor Judith Lubbock commented "The boundary committees preferred option is not the way forward. It would create a remote and unmanageable council that would be the largest geographical unitary council in the country. We should be bringing politics and decision making closer to the people not creating huge bureaucratic super authorities."

However, the boundary committee have also said it can see merit in other patterns of unitary government. These are the 'doughnut' - a two-unitary option representing greater Norwich and the rest of the county, but also including Lowestoft - and the 'wedge' which would bring together greater Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft and create a unitary for the rest of the county.

The Liberal Democrat group support a unitary council for Greater Norwich, because it would see decisions affecting Norwich being taken by the elected representatives of the city, rather than being divided between different councils in a confusing, bureaucratic and unaccountable system as is currently the case. However, the party want the rest of Norfolk to have viable local councils. In the coming days the party will study the 'doughnut' option to see how it impacts on the rest of Norfolk.

The public will be asked to have their say on the proposals between now and September 26. Final recommendations will then be made to Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by the end of December, with whom the final decision will rest.

The boundary committee's draft proposals can be found at http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/boundary-reviews/all-reviews/eastern/norfolk/norfolk-structural-review