Main heading

Press releases:

• County Fears For The Future Of Tatton Park
• Split Cheshire Would Face ‘Appalling Financial Legacy’ - Government Told
• Heads and Governors Slam Threats to Cheshire's Four Star Education
• Deep Flaws in Cheshire Districts' Financial Case Pave Way for Cheshire Single Unitary
• Political bosses call truce to back MP's campaign against Cheshire Split
• County defends its right to speak out for Cheshire's Council
• Cheshire – “A County Worth Fighting For” - Chief Executive Tells His ‘Troops’
• Government’s Conditional Recommendation To Partition County ‘Worst Choice For People Of Cheshire’ – Say County Leaders 
• A Cautious Welcome – But Still Work to Do, Says Labour Leader
• Government Announcement Reflects Cheshire’s Proposal for ‘Bringing Power to the People’ – Says Labour Leader
• Daunting Challenges Facing Cheshire Need Strong Single Unitary – Government Told
• Split Cheshire Spells “Financial Disaster”- Says County Finance Chief
• Cheshire’s Single Unitary Bid Gets Higher Government Rating Than Split County Proposal
• Cheshire Welcomes Consultation on White Paper Submission
• County's Historic submission saves millions and bring power to the people of Cheshire
• Cheshire vote for Single Unitary and a £21m a year saving

There are two proposals for unitary government in Cheshire:

• a single Cheshire Council with local decision making or
• two unitary councils (City of Chester and West Cheshire Council and East Cheshire Council).

The proposal for one Cheshire Council operating through local Area Committees is set out in the following documents:

• One Strong and United Cheshire - summary leaflet
• Working with Local Communities - summary leaflet
• Benefits of a Cheshire Council
• Transforming Cheshire - People, Places and Partnerships - Submission document (Jan 07)
• Appendices
• Building a Sustainable Future - Cheshire County Council's response to CLG concerning local governance in Cheshire (Jun 07)
  

• Cheshire County Council's response to "Proposals for Unitary Local Government  - an Approach to Implementation", 

Supporting documents:

• Notes of a meeting between CLG and Cheshire County Council officers
• CLG Questions and our answers,  and answer to supplementary question
• Financial Framework
• Letter of assessment from CLG March 2007
• Results of Consultation:  BMG Research survey and Focus Groups
  
• Ministerial Statement 25 July 2007  and letters to Chester City Council and Cheshire County Council
• Letter from CLG 7 August 2007

Articles in "Your Cheshire" our community publication distributed countywide to more than 320,000 households and businesses:

• Merseyshire and Manshire or Cheshire? - Summer 2007
• The Future for Cheshire Councils - Spring 2007

Background

The department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) published a White Paper "Strong and Prosperous Communities" in October 2006. At the same time they issued an invitation to areas with county and district councils to send in proposals for improving the two tier system or for creating unitary councils. Unitary councils would deliver the services that are currently provided by County Councils and District Councils. Areas with a County Council and District Councils are referred to as 'two tier' areas. 26 councils submitted proposals in January. From March until 22 June views were sought on 16 proposals from 13 geographic areas. CLG announced in July that the case for a single unitary met the criteria, but that the Secretary of State is 'minded' to implement two unitary councils in Cheshire.  Three of the four councils submitting the proposal for two unitary councils have submitted further evidence to support their financial case but the Executive of Chester City Council resolved not to support it and stated that the financial response was "overly optimistic" and "could have an unknown impact" for the new authorities.  The County Council has commented on the districts' financial case in the document "The Financial Reality."

Questions and Answers