Two Nottinghamshire local authorities have accused neighbouring councils of ‘prematurely’ publishing a report on local government reorganisation (LGR).
A survey carried out over the summer found that less than 30% of residents were in favour of reorganisation.
Rushcliffe Borough Council and Nottinghamshire County Council dismissed the report, arguing that the poll’s 11,000 respondents represent less than 1% of the local population.
The two authorities also said they had had under 24 hours to review the report and accused the county’s seven other councils of ‘letting local people down’ by publishing it.
‘This engagement is not finished and so far has failed to reach most of our residents and businesses,’ they said in a joint statement.
They added: ‘It is clear LGR is not supported by the Nottingham and Notts community. With central government imposing this restructure, how can people trust that councils are working in their best interests if we rush to conclusions.’
A spokesperson for the other seven local authorities said: ‘To be fair to all those who completed the survey, we believe the results should be available to them, in keeping with our agreed open and transparent approach to LGR in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. It was always envisaged the report would be published, and in our view, the public have the right to see it.’
