Merge Essex councils to cut costs, says leader

11:30am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in Echo News

Nigel Holdcroft Nigel Holdcroft

A SUPER council in south east Essex could be the only way to survive swingeing public spending cuts.

That is the view of Nigel Holdcroft, the Tory leader of Southend Council, who has vowed to continue to push for his authority to merge with neighbours Rochford District and Castle Point.

With all three councils being forced to make severe savings in the wake of the Government’s continuing austerity measures, Mr Holdcroft questioned whether the current system could be maintained.

He said: “I think that a debate on the future structure of local government in south east Essex is inevitable, as I am not convinced that the current arrangements are financially sustainable in the mid-term unless the current financial situation significantly improves.

“I am willing to press on with the debate without precondition.”

Southend Council has been responsible for all duties within its borough since 1998, when it became a unitary authority.

In contrast, Rochford District and Castle Point form a two-tier system with Essex County Council – the latter taking control of areas such as schools, roads and social services.

Mr Holdcroft has previously suggested merging the three authorities to form a single unitary body with complete power over the south-east corner of Essex.

Doing so would allow the councils to merge backroom staff, such as human resources, payroll and senior management, to cut costs.

Comments(16)

Cosmo Spring says...
11:48am Wed 6 Mar 13

slim down the councils - get rid of Holdcroft, Ball, Blake and Buckley

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Cockle says...
12:02pm Wed 6 Mar 13

And, of course, Castle Point's 9 seat Conservative majority, along with Rochford's Conservative majority of 23 seats are of no interest to the Conservative leader of a hung Southend Council are they?

Firstly, proposals to make it harder for Independents and minor parties to get elected by moving to quadrennial elections, now we have proposals to import other surrounding districts inbuilt Conservative majorities.

Are you starting to feel a little uncomfortable, Mr Holdcroft? After all, it's only 14 months to the next elections and you must be hearing the clock ticking as leader of a party that seems to have been in continual decline at the ballot box in Southend over the last few years.......

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saarfender says...
12:15pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Why not go the more sensible option and get rid of Southend Council. Merge them back into Essex as are Castle Point and Rochford. That way you only have one authority " taking control of areas such as schools, roads and social services. " as opposed to the duplication you currently have with Southend doing its own little corner of Essex.

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andyh says...
12:20pm Wed 6 Mar 13

No, no, no! Keep effecient Rochford and don't let bloated Southend take us over!

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HadleighBoy says...
12:51pm Wed 6 Mar 13

If I felt that it would genuinely lead to a more efficient council which resulted in better services as the cost savings would be used to that effect then go for it. However that will not be the case the cost savings will be used to reduce bills or will be clawed back by central government reducing the funding to the council.
Also what would happen to education policy, Southend have High Schools the other boroughs do not.

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marshman says...
2:18pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Leave it out Nige!

You really want Castle Point and Rochford residents to watch their hard earned council tax get blown on grandiose projects that no one supports except the dim-witted members that voted them through?

Maybe the reason the council is skint is because of the money you've blown on the muck up down the seafront, the disaster that's Vic Circus and now you're blowing every-ones dosh on silly white elephants like new museums, libraries and cultural centres.

Time to go mate. You've made a right pigs ear of it and best to quit while you've a little of your reputation left.

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stopmoaning1 says...
2:32pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Time and time again organisations think bigger is better and merging with other organisations will solve their problems. Time and time again this has proved to be wrong. A huge number of private companies and public organisations have been taken over or merged and the result is almost always poorer customer service and inefficiency.
The only way the merger could possibly work is if the Rochford staff stay in post and all of the Southend staff are given the boot.
Ridiculous idea!

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stopmoaning1 says...
2:34pm Wed 6 Mar 13

And how about getting rid of all those highly paid non jobs and contractors if you want to cut costs.

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GrumpyofLeigh says...
3:09pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Could someone articulate for me please how we Southend ratepayers have benefited from being a unitary authority 'cos I'm struggling......
And should we care about the shuffling of the deckchairs on the Titanic? We just want competence and efficiency.

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stopmoaning1 says...
3:37pm Wed 6 Mar 13

And less than 4 hours after this story is posted we get………

Traffic island returns
3:10pm Wednesday 6th March 2013
A TRAFFIC island Southend Council scrapped only four years ago is being reinstated at a cost of £50,000.

Oh the irony!

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jolllyboy says...
10:10pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Good grief he is getting power crazy . Noone wants you Nigel to spend their council taxes on ridiculous ideas whilst residents need everyday assistance. ps We did not need another blue bin , we already had one- that must have cost you something and that was money that could have been spent elsewhere better.

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Cockle says...
1:04am Thu 7 Mar 13

jolllyboy wrote:
Good grief he is getting power crazy . Noone wants you Nigel to spend their council taxes on ridiculous ideas whilst residents need everyday assistance. ps We did not need another blue bin , we already had one- that must have cost you something and that was money that could have been spent elsewhere better.
I queried the new blue bin costs and was told that it's OK because it's funded from 'Government money'.....

When will they get it?

There is no 'Government' money any more than there is 'Council' money; it is all OUR money that is taken from us in various taxes. As such I expect it to be spent wisely and treated as preciously as I treat my own money because IT IS OUR MONEY!!!!!

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Red Under Your Bed says...
10:10am Thu 7 Mar 13

A tory proposing measures that amount to gerrymandering. Whodathunkit.

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perini says...
12:01pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Big saving by getting rid of this idiot!

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southend brummie says...
9:32pm Sat 9 Mar 13

Of course this is sensible. Most of Rochford District and Castle Point District are part of Greater Southend, and are so treated by government statistics. It is what makes Southend a city - a population of more than 250,000.

The exceptions are Hullbridge and the peninsula (Canewdon & Paglesham) which could join Maldon, and of course Canvey, which already strongly objects to being ruled by Benfleet.

There is much rationalization that could be done elsewhere in the country too. It self-evidently makes sense that complete urban areas should be run by a single council - whether it is elected in thirds or in a single 4-yearly election.

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DavidBaines says...
9:15pm Sat 23 Mar 13

We do not want to inherit their Educational Issues, what council pays £195,000 per annum for two staff at a special school and then cancel an airshow to save money

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