A referendum on the widening of Leicester’s political boundaries is not planned, the Government has confirmed.
A meeting of Leicestershire County Council last week saw the local authority decide against the expansion of the city’s boundaries, opposing City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby’s local government reorganisation (LGR) proposals to extend them.
The county council’s draft business case set out that if the Government is ‘minded to implement an expansion to Leicester City Council’s boundaries’, the local authority ‘requests [that] a referendum take place on the matter’, with ‘the costs of such a referendum to be met by the Government’.
However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has excluded the possibility of a vote on the move.
A MHCLG spokesperson said: ‘Parliament has set out the process for establishing unitary councils in two-tier areas, and a referendum is not part of the statutory process that has already begun.’
The county council’s LGR proposals include plans to create a single unitary to serve Leicestershire and Rutland, which the reform-led local authority argues would create savings of £40m annually.
Cllr Dan Harrison, Leader of Leicestershire County Council, said: ‘This was a unanimous cross-party decision and reflects what our residents want.
‘We want to create an effective, efficient and responsive council that is fit for the challenges of the next generation. Re-drawing the map would mean destroying Leicestershire’s history and identity. Our plan is about empowering our communities and giving more power to people to take decisions locally.’
Want to learn more about local government reorganisation? Check out: Local Government Reorganisation: What It Means and Why It Matters.
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