One Council - and One Chance for True Change ; There Was Slim Chance of Cornish Politicians Letting the Opportunity Pass. Within Hours of the Government Inviting Councils to Apply to Become to a Unitary Authority, the County Council Had Nailed Its Colours to the Mast. A Single Council Was What Cornwall Needed, They Trumpeted.

Western Morning News, The › April 01, 2009

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Summary

There was slim chance of Cornish politicians letting the opportunity pass. Within hours of the Government inviting councils to apply to become to a unitary authority, the county council had nailed its colours to the mast. A single council was what Cornwall needed, they trumpeted.

The benefits to the county would be manifold. Fewer centrally imposed performance targets. Millions of pounds worth of savings. A stronger, single voice for Cornwall. All this in return for scrapping the two-tier system, which had split the delivery of education, roads, street cleaning and much more between the county and six district councils since 1974.

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Extract

One Council - and One Chance for True Change ; There Was Slim Chance of Cornish Politicians Letting the Opportunity Pass. Within Hours of the Government Inviting Councils to Apply to Become to a Unitary Authority, the County Council Had Nailed Its Colours to the Mast. A Single Council Was What Cornwall Needed, They Trumpeted.

On the day of the invite from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) - October 25, 2006 - there was talk of a "distinctly Cornish solution". The niceties of what a unitary authority would look like and how it would operate had yet to be hammered out. Would power be vested in County Hall or district outposts?

Whatever - the idea, in principle, was warmly welcomed. Cornwall's five Liberal Democrat MPs tabled a C...

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