Last week I attended a packed meeting in Stroud about the upcoming shake up to the councils in Gloucestershire.
At the moment there are (at least) three tiers of council: town (or parish), district, and county. Some areas also have a mayoral or combined authority that sits above that.
Each of these councils has their own powers and responsibilities, usually based on some sort of historical precedent, and often making little or no sense. For example, in a public place in Stroud, leaf clearance is the responsibility of Stroud District Council, weed control is the responsibility of Gloucestershire County Council, while grass cutting is down to Stroud Town Council. It can take ages to work out who does what.
At the other end of the spectrum, those areas without a strategic authority suffer because there is no body responsible for planning for the area at a strategic level. I notice this lack most around the district’s transport infrastructure – or lack of it. An authority like this would make a huge difference in making the case for the north/south railway station in Stonehouse, or to re-instating the axed 84/85 bus service that connected Wotton-Under-Edge to Yate.
To me, it makes complete sense to try and simplify our council structures and make them more effective and easier to understand. There is also a longer term point – people feel disenfranchised when their structures of government and responsibility feel hard to understand and influence. We desperately need people to take more interest in politics and the decisions that affect our communities. Higher levels of engagement (and accountability) will help restore confidence in our battered democracy.
The proposals may not be perfect – proposals rarely are. But I was struck by the willingness of local people to come out on a cold night to discuss and engage with each other about local political structures. And it is always good to be able to discuss things like this across the political spectrum: it was a pleasure to talk with Chloe Turner, John Bloxsom, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Carla Denyer.
To make the most of the new devolved powers, we must be willing to work cross-party and cross-region to get the best deal for our area. Friday night was a great first step in this work.
