Four district councils in Warwickshire have urged the county council not to request a delay to its local elections this year.

Upper-tier councils must inform the Government by Friday (10 January) if they wish to postpone their elections in May in order to reorganise their regions into unitary structures, and receive extra devolved powers, at an ‘ambitious’ pace.

The leaders of Nuneaton and Bedworth, North Warwickshire, Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick councils said that on 19 December, just three days after the devolution white paper was published, Warwickshire County Council told them it would be making a submission to the Government.

The plans involve the formation of a Warwickshire unitary authority without any debate with the region's district and borough councils, the leaders said.

They said they did not support the plans and have written to Warwickshire leader Isobel Seccombe to call for urgent discissions to ‘properly consider’ the options.

The fifth district council in Warwickshire, Rugby Borough Council, was not included in the letter.

Cllr Seccombe is set to formally decide on Friday that Warwickshire will inform the Government that it wishes to press ahead reorganisation and devolution.

The decision is being made by the council leader under the authority’s ‘urgency procedure’.

The report says: ‘It is of note that the Government’s correspondence was received on 16th December 2024, following which it has been necessary to engage in dialogue and to seek advice from officers before a decision could be taken.

‘This, together with the public holidays over the period, has meant that it has not been possible for a leader report to be prepared in sufficient time for a key decision to be added to the forward plan in the usual way.’

Warwickshire County Council has been contacted for a response to the letter.

The letter was signed by: 

North Warwickshire Borough Council leader David Wright

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader Chris Watkins

Stratford-on-Avon District Council leader Susan Juned

Warwick District Council leader Ian Davison