The West Lindsey District Council leader will write to all council leaders in Greater Lincolnshire and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, urging them to abandon plans for a ‘mega-council’.
In February 2025, the government wrote to all council leaders formally inviting them to work with other council leaders to develop a proposal for local government reorganisation.
The Government said that any interim plan should be submitted on or before March 21, 2025, and any full proposal should be submitted by 28 November.
At the start of the full council meeting on Monday (March 3), Leader of the Council, Coun Trevor Young confirmed several meetings on Local Government Reorganisation since the last full council meeting.
He explained that work is ongoing, and the council will arrange an extraordinary full council meeting in the next couple of weeks to consider the issue.
Cllr Matt Boles moved at the meeting to reject creating a single county-wide unitary authority for Lincolnshire. He led the discussions by emphasising that West Lindsey District Council has successfully served its residents for over 50 years.
Cllr Boles said: “This council believes that decisions affecting West Lindsey should be taken in West Lindsey. In its 50-year existence, West Lindsey has been a successful council responding to the needs of its community. This level of localised action would be lost in a mega-council with one unitary.
“Whilst the current two-tier system presents some challenges, the solution does not lie in creating vast and remote mega-councils that will diminish local voices and accountability.
“If unitarisation is to be implemented in Lincolnshire, it should be based on smaller, more localised areas that align with existing communities and their identities, rather than single county-wide mega councils,” he added.
Instead, Councillor Boles argued that if any restructuring occurs, it must be ‘driven by the genuine needs and preferences of Lincolnshire communities, rather than a top-down approach disregarding local concerns.
Councillors debated the motion at length. Some questioned the lack of success in other areas and where the idea of a mega council came from. Others welcomed a unitary council, and others expressed concerns about democracy.
The motion was seconded by Cllr Jim Snee, who added: “Bigger isn’t always better, quality is better than quantity, and be careful what you wish for.”
As a result, the council has passed a resolution to:
1. Reject the creation of a single county-wide unitary authority for Lincolnshire.
2. Call upon the council leader to write to all council leaders in Greater Lincolnshire and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, urging them to abandon plans for a mega-council.
3. Instruct council officers to ensure West Lindsey District Council’s identity and contribution to central Lincolnshire remain a key consideration in any future discussions on local government reorganisation.
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