Is It Time For A Local Referendum?
Gail Bailey speaks to Ribble Valley Council Leader Stephen Atkinson about his determination to secure the independence of the council
While 2024 sees Ribble Valley Borough Council celebrate 50 years since its incorporation, Council Leader Stephen Atkinson leads a debate in which he hopes to continue to secure its independence as the threat of devolution continues to loom: “There are huge benefits to having our own borough council in the Ribble Valley,” he says.
“It has allowed us to develop our enviable track record of sound finance with no public debt, the lowest tax in the county and the only borough in the county having a weekly waste collection, with no charges for green waste. Alongside this we are currently planning ambitious capital projects to enhance the quality of life for Ribble Valley residents even further.”
Currently Lancashire has a two-tiered local government which includes the upper tier County Council, which is responsible for services that cover the whole county such as social care, education and transport and then a body of smaller District Councils which oversee planning applications, environmental health, bin collections and leisure facilities.
Devolution would mean the current 11 District Councils potentially being abolished to create one single-tier authority to include a mayor, such as Greater Manchester, or up to three tiers with Ribble Valley possibly being run from Blackburn: “We are fundamentally opposed to such a mayor and local government reorganisation,” Cllr Atkinson explains.
“We can see the benefit of these in metropolitan areas, but believe that Lancashire is so diverse and unique that the county and district model, which has served it well since the 1970s, is best placed to continue to do so. Some reports have suggested that the government wants the mayors to sit on a Council of the Regions, which is reminiscent of the Norman era when the barons had ultimate power – surely moving to this system would be a retrograde action.”
Whilst ‘devolution’ is the term used to describe the process of transferring powers and funding from the central national government to local government, Councillor Atkinson highlights the importance of smaller District Councils which ensure that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and the businesses they affect.
“A mayor would struggle to represent the whole of Lancashire given its diversity and blend of urban and rural communities – and one of our real concerns is that investment decisions may be made in the more densely populated areas,” he adds.
“Identity and our sense of community in the Ribble Valley is now at the very core of this political debate and our plan is to ensure residents do not have decisions forced upon them,” Cllr Atkinson says.
“A resolution committing to the calling of a referendum in the Ribble Valley in the event of any proposed local government reorganisation, was approved by a majority at a specially convened council meeting and we hope to have this approved should it be needed to ensure the residents of the Ribble Valley have their say in their future.”
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