Runnymede supports three new councils to replace boroughs and county

The move will ultimately lead to Runnymede Borough Council and Surrey County Council being replaced.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has said it wants to abolish district, borough and county councils across England and replace them with a smaller number of unitary councils.

Unitary councils carry out the majority of local government services which would otherwise be delivered separately by district / borough and county councils in a given geographic area.

On Monday night, Runnymede Borough Council became the first council in Surrey to discuss the initial submission to Government setting out how the area will meet ministers’ expectations by moving to unitary councils.

Councillors were asked to consider how best to represent residents in Surrey in light of the Government’s plans. During a near-two hour discussion, the vast majority of Runnymede’s councillors agreed that three new councils would mean:

• residents would be more connected to their council and more easily able to visit council offices when they need to,
• the organisation and its members would be more accountable,
• a simpler local government arrangement would be created than the current arrangement,
• decisions would be made closer to the places they affect,
• significant financial savings compared to the cost of running 12 councils would emerge, and
• strong local knowledge, identity and control would still be retained.

The Co-Leaders of Runnymede Borough Council said: “Runnymede has performed well over more than 50 years for the people of the borough, but as times change, we need to adapt.

“Three councils covering Surrey strikes the right balance between a clearer and more efficient way of providing local services, whilst keeping the identity, communities and needs of towns and villages in Surrey, and every single person who lives here, at the forefront of everything we do.

“This whole process is really important to individual people. The number of councils, the way they are run and retaining local identity and understanding will determine the priorities and the resources used to deliver many of the services local people use every week.”

The geographic boundaries and make-up of the proposed unitary councils have not yet been determined and will be included in the final submission to government in May. However, unitary councils would be composed of several nearest neighbouring Surrey district and borough councils.

Next steps

We are working with the other district and borough councils in the area, and also Surrey County Council, to put a submission to Government which meets ministers' expectations for change.

The other councils in Surrey are debating the proposals during this week, with this initial submission being presented to the Government by 21 March at the latest.

Following feedback from Government, the councils will then be expected to submit a final detailed proposal by 9 May.