Cheshire residents against county split, says Government report

The Government's plans to split Cheshire in to East and West Cheshire failed to get significant support, according to the Government's own research. A report from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) says that the majority of Cheshire residents were in favour of one council for the whole county.

Cheshire County Council say the people of Cheshire have come out overwhelmingly in favour of a single unitary council for the county. The results of the government's stakeholder consultation on proposals for either a single or two unitary solutions revealed a "great majority" of representations supported Cheshire County Council's submission for a strong united county.

The report says: "Although some members of the public expressed support for the two unitary proposal, the great majority of representations received from members of the public expressed support for the county's proposal. Many felt that having a single council for Cheshire would raise the standard of service provision for all county residents."

The report also found that all schools consulted were in favour of a single unitary council, while half of the public sector workers polled believed that the county council submission for a single Cheshire authority best met the Government's criteria.

A change from the existing two-tier system is being fought by Crewe & Nantwich leader Cllr Brian Silvester. He says: "The Government report is sheer manipulation of the facts and represents an abuse of power designed to bring about a predetermined outcome." C&NBC and Congleton are engaged in a legal case against the proposal to move to unitary authorities. A decision from Secretary of State Hazel Blears is expected next week.

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