What happened at last night's key vote as Stratford and Warwick District Council look set to form a joint 'super council'

A potential merger between Stratford and Warwick District Councils remains on track following one of two key votes this week.

Councillors at yesterday’s [Monday] full council meeting at Stratford voted overwhelmingly in favour of further discussions taking place. A similar vote will be taken at Warwick District Council’s meeting tomorrow [Wednesday].

During a lengthy debate there were calls to delay any decision for six months so that the council’s recovery work post Covid lockdown could be continued and one Conservative councillor broke ranks - the only councillor to vote against the recommendations - calling for the district to keep its identity.

Cllr Sarah Whalley-Hoggins (Con, Brailes and Compton) said: “We are being asked to make a decision that will affect each and every one of our residents for many years to come and perhaps even their lifetime.

“We haven’t had time to discuss with our parish councils or residents. To be treated with such disdain is totally unacceptable and I refuse to treat those who elected me in the same way as those who are leading us today seek to do.

“We need to spend the next 18 months repairing, rebuilding and reassuring. The proposals we have before us will significantly reduce those capabilities of officers who will be more focused on the joining together of Warwick District Council with Stratford.

“I was elected to serve my ward as a Stratford district councillor - not as a ‘Super South’ councillor and not as a Warwickshire unitary councillor. I do not want the service to be run by officers who know nothing at all about our district.

“We are not similar, we are very different. We are Stratford-upon-Avon and we are on the world stage. I refuse to support this in its current format and at the present time.”

Cllr Penny-Anne O’Donnell (Con, Ettington) raised questions in her role as chair of the overview and scrutiny committee.

She said: “A number of questions remain unanswered for us as a committee. Where is the public and stakeholder consultation evidence and where are the supportive statements from our local MPs? I would suggest at the very least that a round table with Warwickshire County Council and every district council, chamber of commerce and local MPs should have been at the start of this.

“No referendum is planned because of cost which is understandable but we will need clarity around public consultation.”

Cllr Kate Rolfe (Lib Dem, Tiddington) and Cllr Victoria Alcock (Lib Dem, Bishopton) were among those calling for a six month delay while Cllr Tony Bromwich (Ind, Southam North) felt he did not have the full facts.

But council leader Cllr Tony Jefferson (Con, Welcombe) said: “What we are deciding on today is a vision, a strategy and a direction of travel. There is an awful lot more work to do.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the government will move fast once it moves. We cannot afford to wait - we are between a rock and a hard place.”