Council leader 'taking legal advice' on merger plans

The leader of a council set to be abolished has said he is "taking legal advice" about launching a judicial review against proposed local government reorganisation (LGR).

On Thursday it was announced that parts of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe borough councils are set to be merged with Nottingham City Council.

Neil Clarke, the leader of Conservative-run Rushcliffe Borough Council, called the move "utterly bonkers", and claimed his authority's resources were being used to help the city council recover from recent financial issues.

Neghat Khan, leader of the Labour-run city council, said the reforms had "never been about grabbing money or land".

Under the proposals, which are part of a national review of local government in England, all nine of the city and county's existing councils will be abolished, with a new "Greater Nottingham Council" created to manage all the area's council services.

A second unitary authority, called "Nottinghamshire Council", will include the current districts of Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, and Newark and Sherwood, along with the parts of Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe not included in the other authority.

An online postcode checker shows which areas will be in which new council.

The BBC understands shadow elections for the new councils will be held in May 2027, with powers formally transferred the following year.

Clarke told BBC Radio Nottingham the plans - which were backed by the city council last year - have met with "immense opposition" from Rushcliffe residents and will put "all sorts of services" at risk.

"This is a devastating decision for the people of Rushcliffe," he said.

"This is the worst case of political gerrymandering I've ever seen.

"The Labour government clearly have contempt for the residents and businesses in Rushcliffe, and this is just being used to grab all the major assets in Rushcliffe and hand them over to the city to pay off their monstrous debts."

Clarke said he was taking advice on the judicial review as he believed there were flaws in the consultation process, and would be writing to other affected councils to see if they would support his position.

"The government has chosen an option which we believe goes against the initial criteria we were given for setting up new councils, and an option on which the public were not properly consulted," he said.

"We hope that by having the judicial review, it will be rendered unlawful, and that it will not be able to proceed in its [current] form.

"It needs looking at again, and looking at sensibly."

Responding to accusations of "gerrymandering" in Labour's electoral favour on Thursday - claims made by shadow communities secretary Sir James Cleverley - Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed MP said: "Unfortunately, the facts don't support the claims that he is making. The majority of proposals that I have just outlined... have cross-party support.

"I accept that reasonable people may agree or they may disagree with the decisions, but the important thing now for residents is that we move ahead to realise the savings to secure the economic growth, because it is those things that will benefit local people."

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for further comment.

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